Don't Forget About Bar Code Printers

There is a lot of hype surrounding RFID, but there are still great opportunities for VARs to sell bar code printers. Analysts say the standard bar code printer industry continues to grow. Bar code technology still holds several advantages over RFID. It is mature technology without many of the growing pains that RFID is experiencing. Bar code technology also has an existing infrastructure that has been in place for quite some time. It is more cost-effective than RFID, from both capital cost and consumables perspectives.

Bar Code Printing Technology Is Still Improving
Just because bar code technology is mature doesn’t mean that it’s static. Manufacturers are building higher-resolution printers that are capable of printing labels faster, at the point of product packaging, and even in the field.

John Campbell, national account manager at Toshiba TEC America’s Thermal Printer Division, thinks the two biggest technical improvements in bar code printing will be the continued growth and integration of RFID with bar code printers and the continued development of portable printer applications. “I believe you also will see more network connectivity options, such as wireless LAN interfaces, becoming standard with new printer models,” says Campbell.

Pricing has somewhat stabilized. VARs may still see some price reduction in the $1,000 to $2,000 range of printers. As with other technologies such as personal computers, you may see improved features included at the same price, rather than manufacturers lowering prices.

Peter Fullerton, senior product manager for SATO America, says, “Although bar code technology is still viable, RFID is coming. Look for RFID to become more integrated with standard bar code printers. VARs that can offer printing and RFID encoding services and add value to a customer’s implementation process hold a market advantage.”

Bar Code Opportunities May Be Disguised As RFID
The days of making a living selling only bar code hardware are gone. VARs have to focus on, and excel at, their key competitive advantages in order to prosper in the bar code printer market — and that means having knowledge that crosses both bar code and RFID technologies. VARs should not assume that all requests for RFID will end up producing RFID sales. “Many VARs that are addressing inquiries for RFID are actually finding opportunities for standard bar code applications and selling more standard bar code technology than RFID,” says Campbell. Successful VARs will be the ones that know both bar code and RFID technologies and truly add value via their total product and service offerings, regardless of the technology.

“RFID is a hot topic, but bar code technology is proven and will not be replaced by RFID anytime soon,” says SATO’s Fullerton. “Corporate and regulatory compliance continues to drive both bar code and RFID growth. But in many cases, RFID is not producing the return on investment that many had hoped for, not only for the VAR and manufacturer, but also for the suppliers of the goods.”

As companies like Wal-Mart implement RFID mandates, suppliers are forced to comply or be replaced. In those cases, the VAR is challenged to show the customer business process improvements such as faster payments from the retailer.

Dave Crist, VP of sales for the Americas at Zebra Technologies International, LLC, adds, “The VAR community should know there are some applications where RFID is not a cost-effective solution. In many cases, a customer’s business process can be improved with bar code technology alone — RFID may not be needed.”

Avoid The Common Bar Code Printer Mistakes
“Misplacement of bar code printers is a common mistake VARs make,” says SATO’s Fullerton. He cited several examples of VARs that installed desktop bar code printers where  industrial-grade printers were more appropriate. “You don’t want to place a $600 printer where an industrial printer is needed, as $600 printers are generally designed to print fewer than 400 labels per day. Sometimes, customers will push them to the limits, including running them in a continuous batch mode. Continuous batch printing requires an industrial-grade bar code printer.”

Some VARs tend to take bar code printing sales for granted, missing potential sales opportunities. Toshiba’s Campbell adds, “VARs don’t always put the same type of effort into getting sales training and growing technical knowledge that they used to.” Campbell makes a good point. The evolution of wholesale distribution makes it easy for VARs to get any printer brand they want, but also makes it harder for them to be experts in any one brand. Successful VARs are still very technically aware of the equipment they sell, and they use that as a key competitive advantage. “VARs that just want to move some hardware without adding value will find it hard going in the long term,” adds Campbell.

As all of these experts note, sales opportunities for bar code printers are still very strong, despite the heightened interest in RFID. Your challenge is to understand both bar code and RFID technologies and be able to determine which is best for your customer’s application. In many cases, those solutions may include both bar codes and RFID tags.