| Full Abstract: | Bar codes are important for improving patient safety and process efficiency. As such, they should be created with care using dedicated printers that are optimized to provide reliable, accurate bar code output. When hospitals start planning their first bar code labeling applications they are often tempted to try to modify their existing office printing systems to do the job. While laser, ink jet and dot matrix printers can be made to output bar codes, dedicated thermal printers are a much more convenient and cost effective option. This white paper will describe the advantages and limitations of each print technology and explain why a dedicated bar code printing system is advantageous compared to using general-purpose printers for bar code labeling. | |
