LadderOrPicket.com Good site explaining benefit to print in ladder or picket
Title
LADDER or PICKET printing of bar codes
Description
A website dedicated to simply helping people decide the best orientation for their bar code printing when using thermal printers.
Additional Information
ARE YOU TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER IT IS BETTER TO PRINT YOUR BAR CODES ACROSS THE CODER OR INLINE?
There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but we have attempted to demystify the problem and make your decision easier.
DEFINITION: Ladder is the term applied to barcodes where the lines are printed in parallel with the print head (across the web). Picket [fence] is the term applied to bar codes where slices across the complete bar code are printed at a time. (Lines run in line with the web.)
LADDER - PROS: (1) Fault tolerance - Bar codes can usually still be read even if one of the pins on the print head has been damaged or is not working. (2) Print head change can then be scheduled in to coincide with a natural break in production.
LADDER - CONS: (1) Print head life is usually reduced. (2) Print quality is reduced making bar codes harder to read, sometimes resulting in reduced line efficiency due to unreadable bar codes being rejected.
PICKET - PROS: (1) Print head life is usually increased. (2) Print quality is better, resulting in more reliable reading and better line efficiency.
PICKET - CONS: (1) Bar code may not be readable if a pin on the print head fails. (2) If this happens, it will probably require production to be stopped until print head is replaced.
EXPLANATIONS: Print head life is generally shortened by an increased number of ON/OFF cycles. When printing Ladder, the print head must turn on and off many times per bar code. When printing in Picket, the head simply turns on and off the once (excluding any associated text/characters). When each pin on the print head turns on or off there is a minute dwell and period when the pin is in transition between the two states. This results in slight bleeding - unevenness, blurring (dimensional instability) when printing all the lines, one after the other, in ladder. However, in Picket the pins only change state at either end of each line, meaning that the lines are much crisper, making reading more reliable.
CONCLUSION: If one applies good maintenance procedures, the increased head life and improved line efficiency from the better quality bar codes means that the benefits of PICKET probably outweighs those of Ladder for most applications. Only if a brief unscheduled line stoppage to change the print head is unacceptable might one consider Ladder preferable. It should also be noted that as damage is likely to occur during label changes or maintenance, then one should consider that the line may have just started production and line operative will probably still be in vicinity. Part of the process could be to keep spare head close by to save time.
END USER VIEWS: Most companies insist on Picket as this gives the most reliable read first time and is therefore fastest to process.
TIPS: Follow vendors instructions for cleaning - frequency and method. Poor maintenance WILL reduce print head life. Use vendors recommended labels and print ribbons. Cheap WILL usually result in increased wear, contamination, reduced print head life and more chance of damage due to need to clean more frequently.
FURTHER READING: A quick search using Google will find many sites that should reinforce the above.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that the above is our opinion based on our research. We do not take responsibility for how the information is interpreted or what actions are or are not taken as a result of reading the above.
Related Domains
External Links
Additional Search Terms
ladderorpicket
