Specialty-beverage chains 

 

APPLICATION: 

Ordering system and product labeling 

 

MODEL: 

TDP-225

 

Specialty-beverage chains serving iced tea, lemonade, and milk tea to-go have been expanding rapidly in the Asia region. Customers can choose from numerous options, including the level of sweetness, amount of ice and type of milk. Unfortunately, with so many possible variations, servers often make mistakes, and extra time and money is spent correcting orders. 

 

Solution: 

To resolve this issue, many specialty-beverage outlets have decided to integrate the TDP-225 direct thermal barcode printer into their POS system. Servers can now take orders, automatically print out labels listing the ingredients of each drink, and place them on empty cups to be filled. When the cups are passed to the next station for processing, servers know exactly what ingredients to include in each beverage. At the pickup counter, customers can double-check the accuracy of their order by examining the beverage label. 

 

Benefit: 

Listing each order’s ingredients on a label ensures that every drink is produced quickly and correctly the first time, reducing wasted time and supplies reworking orders. And because drinks are processed much faster, customers spend less time waiting in line. The result: improved customer satisfaction, and is less stressful and hectic for the staff. 

 

Features: 

The TDP-225 is the first low-cost compact 2-inch-format desktop printer to offer an optional LCD display to customers. The LCD presents easy-to-read information about print job status, making the TDP-225 much easier to use than other compact direct thermal printers on the market. 

 

Designed with a small footprint and no losable parts, the TDP-225 is ideally suited for a wide range of applications, including retail point-of-sale, shelf labeling, product marking, healthcare-specimen labeling, healthcare-patient tracking, Inventory and asset management, small office or home office mailing, shipping and file-folder labeling. The printer operates at a fast 5 inches per second and features a user-friendly clamshell design with a large 5” label roll. 

 

The TDP-225’s advanced design includes a 200 MHz processor, 4 MB FLASH memory (standard), 8 MB SDRAM and a MicroSD expansion slot that increases FLASH storage up to 4 GB. The printer supports standard industry emulations right out of the box, including Eltron® and Zebra® language support.  

Retail 

 

APPLICATION: 

Price Markdowns 

 

MODEL: 

TTP-225

 

Moi Magazin (My Shop), a “close-to-home” Russian retail chain, needed a reliable label printer that could produce up to 8,000 58x30 mm labels per day (2,000 labels per store department). After performing a market analysis and comparing various models, the company selected TSC’s TTP-225 printer. A major selling point was the printer’s superior combination of price and performance, along with TSC’s two-year limited warranty. 

 

Solution: 

Connected with the Moi Magazin record-keeping system, the TTP-225 printers (64 total - four per outlet) are used to label all incoming goods. The compact, space-saving printers give the company the option of using either low-cost thermal labels or longer-lasting semi-gloss labels. 

 

Benefits: 

• Reliable (two-year warranty) 

• Versatile (accommodates all direct thermal and thermal transfer labels) 

• Easy integration into existing ERP systems

 

TTP-225 Features: 

The TTP-225 label printer delivers premiumperformance at an affordable price for a wide range of retail, medical and office applications. It features a user-friendly clamshell design with a large 5-inch OD center biased media capacity. Top-of-form sensing by gap, black mark or notch is standard and completely adjustable from side to side. The printer offers standard industry emulations right out of the box, including support for Eltron® and Zebra® languages. 

 

Available in either standard 203 dpi or higher resolution 300 dpi models, the TTP-225 is the first low-cost thermal transfer 2-inch-format desktop printer to offer an optional LCD display. Other outstanding features include an inexpensive internal Ethernet adapter for easy network integration, a label-present sensor, and an optional keyboard for printing labels in standalone or downtime situations.

 

About Moi Magazin: 

Moi Magazin is a modern retail chain offering a wide range of top-quality goods and customer services. Established in 2002, the trade network is operated by Garant-Trade M OOO, LLC. Recently, Garant-Trade M has been working closely with the Moscow city government to establish a chain of easily accessible food stores "within walking distance” of pedestrians. 

 

The company operates three types of stores: 

 

• Shopping Centre supermarkets (600-2,000 square meters) 

• Express shops in shopping and business centres, and street retail outlets (130-230 square meters) in city-central areas 

• “Close-to-home” shops (300-600 square meters) in densely populated residential areas 

 

As of Oct. 1, 2012, the Moi Magazin network operated 16 retail outlets.

 

Retail 

 

APPLICATION: 

Marking prices on goods in shops 

 

MODEL: 

TDP-225

 

With 1,700 shops, the Russian company Ralf Ringer owns the largest shoe distribution network in Russia. In 2012 alone, the company produced 1,350,000 pairs of shoes. 

 

Known for its superior customer service, Ralf Ringer pays strict attention to product quality. At some point, however, employees working in the company’s retail outlets began noticing deficiencies in the performance of the thermal barcode printers used to print price labels. The print was sometimes barely legible and nearly unreadable at the data collection terminals. The printers often broke down, resulting in frequent calls to the maintenance and control department, along with costly delays and work stoppages. 

 

Solution: 

Ralf Ringer decided to find an alternative to its poorly performing thermal barcode printers. The company conducted a search for a reliable, versatile replacement printer that offered excellent print quality, fast print speeds, multi-functional features and was available at an affordable price. After a series of tests, the company chose the TDP-225, a compact thermal printer manufactured by TSC. The TDP-225 is widely recognized as one of the most reliable label printers on the market, offering virtually trouble-free performance over an extended lifespan, eliminating the need for frequent and costly customer service calls. The high-speed printer produces labels very quickly and, unlike many other printers in its class, does not require constant brightness adjustments. 

 

“Servicing the printers that we had been using was a real pain in the neck for us,” said the head of the Ralf Ringer VISTP OIT sector. “With the TSC printers, there are practically no complications. And, curiously enough, they are more affordable than those offered by the competition. The acquisition of these new printers helped us save money in our automation budget.” 

 

Benefits: 

• Reliability and durability 

• High print speed 

• Multi-functionality 

• Compactness 

• Ease of operation 

• Large RAM volume 

 

TDP-225 Features: 

Built with TSC durability, reliability and commitment to innovation, the 2-inch-wide-format TDP-225 direct thermal printer features a compact design and high performance engine that prints at 127mm/second, making it ideal for retail point-of-sale, shelf labeling, product marking, specimen labeling and other applications. 

 

The TDP-225 is the first low-cost compact 2-inch desktop printer to offer an optional LCD display for easy tracking of print job status. Other outstanding features include an inexpensive internal Ethernet adapter for easy integration into networks and an optional keyboard for printing labels in standalone or downtime situations. 

 

Designed with no losable parts, the compact TDP-225 fits easily into tight work spaces and supports a wide range of applications. It also features a user-friendly clamshell design that allows users to simply open the cover and drop labels into a spring-loaded 5-inch OD media bay. The printer has a fast 200MHz processor, 8 MB SDRAM and 4 MB Flash memory, with the option to add up to 4 GB of memory using a microSD expansion reader. The TDP-225 will print price tags separated by gaps, black marks or notches, and the black-mark sensor can be adjusted from side to side. 

 

The TDP-225 supports standard industry emulations, including the Eltron® and Zebra® languages.

 

About Ralf Ringer: 

Ralf Ringer opened its doors for business in the Russian market in 1996 and now has more than 1,700 shops and produces more men’s shoes than any other shoe manufacturer in the country. The company has factories in Moscow, Vladimir and Zaraysk, along with the largest distribution network in the country. The company has grown rapidly, increasing its product output from 30,000 pairs of shoes in 1996 to 1,350,000 pairs in 2012, a 45 fold increase. 

 

Today, Ralf Ringer is the best-known brand of men’s shoes in Russia. The level of brand awareness among men between the ages of 25 and 45 is more than 77 percent. In 2010, the company introduced its first woman’s shoe line, which continues to grow in popularity from season to season. The company now produces two collections of shoes annually for both men and women: the “Spring-Summer” and “Autumn-Winter” lines. 

 

Ralf Ringer has won more awards than any other brand of shoe in Russia. Those awards include the “BEST RUSSIAN BRANDS,” “Superbrand” and a “Gold” prize in the “Apparel/Shoes” of the “Brand of the Year/EFFIE” competition. 

Retail 

APPLICATION: 

Price marking under warehouse conditions 

MODEL: 

TTP-246M Pro

 

In response to higher business volume, Privat Trade, leader in Russia’s e-commerce market, recently relocated to a larger warehouse location offering 20,000 square meters of work space. To maintain its quality of service and to increase the speed of product delivery, the company decided to modernize its operations using the latest technology. All warehouse processes and goods are now monitored and tracked using advanced auto-ID barcode labeling. As a result, the efficiency and productivity of warehouse operations has improved dramatically. 

Solution: 

To automate logistics in its new warehouse and reduce losses stemming from idle work time, Privat Trade decided to replace its old bar coding equipment with the high-performance TTP-246M Pro printer manufactured by TSC. 

The TTP-246M Pro is a true workhorse and is one of the most reliable printers on the market, offering Private Trade the best combination of hardware price, quality and functionality. TSC printers also come with a two-year warranty, significantly longer than one-year coverage offered by other manufacturers. 

“After a thorough review of the TSC Auto ID series, we decided to choose the TSC TTP-246M Pro model. The barcode printers are used virtually in every warehouse process: from goods receipts at the warehouse to the shipment of loaded pallets of processed orders. Compared to other industrial printer models in the same class offered by rival vendors, the TSC TTP-246M Pro stands out for both its usability (especially with consumables), and reliability,” said the CIO of Privat Trade.

Benefits: 

• Cost savings 

• Error reduction 

• Increased productivity 

• Increased functionality 

• Enhanced reliability and durability 

TTP-246M Pro Features: 

The TTP-246M Pro high-speed industrial-class printer is loaded with features, offering 203-dpi resolution, a maximum print width of 108 mm, and storage for up to 600 meters of ink-coated ribbon. The unit comes with an anti-static brush and a media sensor lock lever to prevent displacement of consumables. 

The TTP-246M Pro’s heavy-duty die-cast aluminium body, with a metal label roll holder and two sturdy guide plates, makes it the ideal solution for heavy warehouse use. It features a user-friendly 6-button display and side-load design; standard serial, parallel and USB connectivity; and optional Ethernet networking for simple integration with other devices. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interfaces allow connection of mobile devices, making operation of the printer straightforward and intuitive. 

The TTP-246M Pro’s Flash memory can be expanded up to 4 GB with the help of an SD card. This permits storage of all necessary fonts and sets of international symbols and graphics in the device memory. The USB host connection also allows the use of a USB-scanner or keyboard. 

About Privat Trade: 

One of the leaders in Russia’s e-commerce market, Privat Trade combines the popular shopping club KupiVIP.ru, online boutique KupiLUXE.ru and online store ShopTime. Its KupiVIP.ru Holding is among the top 10 largest Russian internet companies (according to Forbes magazine) and has won many prestigious awards and prizes. 

Thousands of purchases are made every day through the shopping club KupiVIP.ru, online boutique KupiLUXE.ru and online store ShopTime. The holding subsidiaries offer more than 1,500 brands of fashion apparel, shoes and accessories. The company also is the exclusive representative of many famous European brands, both in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Privat Trade is also engaged in creation and maintenance of online stores based on its own e-commerce platform.  

Retail e-commerce 

APPLICATION: 

Shipping labels / invoices, dispatch management, centralized printer health-status monitoring 

MODEL: 

ME240 

 

Flipkart, a major Indian e-commerce company that owns the 10 most popular websites in India, was having trouble tracking its increasingly diversified online product offering – thousands of items ranging from movies, music, games, computers and mobile phones to stationery, clothing, toys, health care products and home appliances. The company’s old product-tracking system was unable to keep up with its rapidly expanding product line and high volume of customer orders. Flipkart decided it needed to replace its aging product-labeling equipment with a reliable, easy-to-use barcode printer that would improve tracking efficiency and expedite goods delivery. The company issued a request for proposal for a barcode printer meeting the following requirements: 

• Barcode printer optimized for warehouse management and dispatch management 

• 24 x 7 operation 

• Expandable printer memory 

• Ethernet connectivity for improved printer working-status traceability 

• Centralized monitoring of remote printers 

• Linux OS integration 

• 203 dpi resolution logo printing (graphical) based on ZPL

Solution: 

Flipkart decided to evaluate and test barcode printers from several manufacturers, including products from TSC and its Indian partner. The systems were graded based on reliability, durability, ease of use, programming support and service. 

Working closely with Flipkart’s senior management and technical team and financial team, TSC and its Indian partner were able to develop a solution – with the ME240 printer as the centerpiece – that met all of Flipkart’s requirements, including the integration of the ME240 with Flipkart’s required application and logo printing (a performance feature competitors were unable to offer). 

TSC’s solution included the following powerful performance features: 

Performance and Monitoring Dashboard System (PMDS) 

The TSC partner’s PMDS software enables Flipkart to monitor ME240 printers from any location via their Internet IP Address or MAC Address. 

Dashboard software constantly monitors printers, providing following notifications: 

• Number of labels printed (per day and cumulative totals) 

• Printer stoppages and duration 

• Open print head and duration 

• Label-gap sensing problem 

• Out of label 

• Date wise error 

• Date wise labels (notifications continued on next page)

The 203 dpi ME240 offers a selection of options and accessories designed to meet a wide range of demanding barcode-label applications. More compact than its larger competitors, the ME240 fits easily into cramped work spaces and features a heavy-duty die-cast aluminum print mechanism that is built to withstand the toughest production environments. Standard features in the basic model include USB and serial connectivity, a two-button, three-LED display (a 6-button LCD control panel is available in the advanced model), a Real Time Clock, 8 MB SDRAM memory, 4 MB Flash memory and an SD Flash memory card reader that expands Flash memory up to 4 GB. 

The ME240 is bundled with TSC’s TSPL-EZ firmware, which offers automatic Zebra™ and Eltron™ language emulation “right out of the box.” The printer simply translates each label format as it is received. Also included is DiagTool configuration software that makes it a snap to replace older printers with the advanced ME240 platform. 

About Flipkart: 

Founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, Flipkart began operations in 2007 as an online book retailer and quickly grew into one of India’s largest e-commerce companies. According to Alexa Internet, FlipKart is now one of 10 most popular websites in India, selling everything from movies, music, games, toys, computers and mobile phones to stationery, clothing, perfumes, health care products and home appliances. 

Flipkart has now launched its own product line under the brand name "DigiFlip,” offering camera bags, pen drives, headphones, computer accessories and other merchandise. FlipKart is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, and currently has six distribution centers in India. 

Food, Wholesale and Retail 

APPLICATION: 

Labeling of Fruit Packaging, Crates and Pallets 

MODEL: 

Alpha-3R

 

 

Every day fruit growers in the region deliver fresh products to the producer’s cooperative. There, the berry fruits, stone fruits and pome fruits undergo a thorough check, are sorted and labeled. Then the entire flow of goods are bundled, sales orders are picked and the delicate goods are loaded on modern refrigerated vehicles. As a rule, the products are in retail stores within 24 hours after having been harvested. 

An enormous amount of data has to be processed by the ERP system in a very short time, given the large number of different products and suppliers, the numerous collection points and operating sites, and the speed with which products are handled. To achieve clear identification of goods, and maintain continuous transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain, this process requires powerful, mobile printers that are battery-powered and not dependent on a system. 

Solution: 

A total of 39 portable Alpha-3R printers are used at OGM Obstgrossmarkt Mittelbaden eG to print duplicate barcodes and labels directly at the fruit crates and pallets in the warehouses and open spaces. This means that employees generate labels when and where they are needed. This procedure guarantees that the proper codes are generated and the goods are labeled correctly. The labels contain all the necessary information, including supplier number, lot number and two-dimensional data-matrix-codes. It is essential that the printers are fully functional during hours of operation and that all the necessary data are available at all times.

Benefits: 

• Printing of product labels precisely fitting the requirements 

• Fast duplication of barcodes 

• Transparent processes 

• Traceability throughout the complete supply chain

Alpha-3R Features: 

Weighing only 550 grams including the battery, the portable direct thermal printer is so light that it can be worn comfortably over a longer period of time on either the belt or with a shoulder strap. The printer’s 7.4V/2500 mAh battery ensures optimum performance for 12 hours, without needing to be charged. The print resolution is 203 dpi, the maximum printing speed is 102 mm/s (4"), the maximum print width is 2,286 mm. The printer’s 8 MB SDRAM and 4 MB FLASH offer sufficient memory capacity even for high demand printing requirements. The double-walled plastic case resists dust and water, and the rubber casing protects the printer from drops at heights up to 1.50 meters. 

About OGM Obstgrossmarkt Mittelbaden eG: 

OGM Obstgrossmarkt Mittelbaden eG is a modern, high-performance wholesale cooperative with its headquarters in Oberkirch, district Central Baden, Germany. The company generates the largest part of its turnover with berry fruits. A second business focus is the marketing of stone fruits - sweet and sour cherries and also plums to a large extent. The third pillar is pome fruits, which means that in this part of the business, apples play the principal role in Oberkirch. There are around 2,000 fruit producers that are members of the wholesale cooperative that deliver their freshly harvested goods on a daily basis. From there, the fruits get transported to various retail stores. OGM has created technical and logistical processes ensuring that the delicate products can be offered for sale in stores within 24 hours at the latest. 

Point of sale 

APPLICATION: 

Labeling of products and special offers, price tags 

MODEL: 

Alpha-3R

 

DRIM is a family owned company from Catalonia, Spain specializing in toys and childcare products. While the company constantly strives to provide fun for children and adults, it also wants to create a great work environment for its employees. That's why DRIM wanted an efficient system to label its products and make price changes easier, especially for special offers or during the critical Christmas season. 

Solution: 

The quality of the TSC Alpha-3R printer is what drew DRIM’s attention from the outset. And once tested, DRIM made the decision to go with the Alpha-3R for all its stores. The integration of the printers was seamless, only taking half an hour to train users. 

Thanks to TSC printers, DRIM can identify each product including the store ID, the standard price and the product reference. With a total of 2,000 references, DRIM efficiently manages all its daily labeling activities, as well as specific promotions like Christmas holiday specials. Their Christmas catalogue has about 1,000 references. In the past, they needed 3 or 4 days to change prices. Now with the Alpha-3R printer, the staff can achieve the same work in a single morning. In addition, given the ease-of-use of the system, it can be carried out by one person. 

According to Raul Lleberia, IT Manager, DRIM benefits in a number of ways by using the TSC printer -- from its compact size, quality construction, intuitive handling, long battery life to its affordable price. Thanks to the Alpha-3R, DRIM realizes efficiencies in man power by reducing the time needed to change prices from one hour to five minutes. 

Benefits: 

• Intuitive, professional printing solutions 

• Easy-to-use with a very compact size 

• Quality printing at a very attractive price 

• Greater productivity at the point of sale

Alpha-3R Features: 

The Alpha-3R is a lightweight, convenient printer capable of working with any mobile printing application that requires fast, simple labels or receipts on demand. The Alpha-3R offers a vast memory and a high-speed processor for quick printing of up to 102 mm (4") per second with a resolution of 203 dpi. 

The Alpha-3R is designed for hard work. Its case protects against the elements, and it has earned IP54 classification which means it is resistant to dust and water. Its molded rubber coating can also withstand falls from as high as 1.5 meters and still keep on printing. 

These small, lightweight printers can be carried comfortably for an entire shift without interfering with the user's tasks. It uses USB, Bluetooth®, wireless 802.11 b/g/n, or serial port options to connect to a laptop computer or even a smartphone to produce text that is clear and easy to read hour after hour. Standard TSPL-EZ language also makes it very easy to program and integrate into your system. 

Founded in 1972, DRIM is a family business from Catalonia specializing in toys for children, hobbies and childcare items. In recent years, the DRIM brand has experienced significant growth throughout all of Catalonia. The company has made a large investment in the management of as many as 75 stores, and the opening of its own logistics center with 16,000 m² dedicated to supplying its points of sale in the fastest and most effective ways possible. 

Logistics industry 

APPLICATION: 

Item marking, carton/ pallet labeling 

MODEL: 

TDP-224

 

The TDP-244 barcode printer is ideally suited for item marking, carton and pallet labeling, and asset-control management. Using the information embedded in the barcodes – e.g. product description, quantity, weight, CBM and tracking number – logistics operators can monitor the delivery time, status, and route changes of items through every step of the supply chain. 

Benefits: 

Replaces the manual handling of data, eliminating the risk of human error and improving logistics flexibility. Gives operators immediate control of stock and shipping – from cargo withdrawal to delivery – by linking barcode labels with automatic identification systems. 

TSC TDP-244 direct-thermal barcode printer features: 

One of the most affordable printers in its class, the TDP-244 is ideal for product marking, shipping, retail and other labeling applications. It offers a host of features, including 203-dpi resolution, print speeds up to 4 inches per second, high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity and a large 60-watt power supply (great for printing high-quality labels). 

For easy loading, the TDP-244 employs a user-friendly double-wall clamshell design with a large five-inch (outside diameter) center-biased media bay. Top-of-form sensing – by gap, black mark, or notch – is standard and completely adjustable from side to side. The TDP-244 also comes with a head-open sensor. 

With 8MB DRAM and 4 MB FLASH, the TDP-244 can store a wide variety of fonts, international character sets and graphics. And it supports, "right out of the box," a fully compatible set of standard industry emulations, including Eltron® and Zebra® languages, making it easy to replace old installed hardware.