Moving Beyond Black

Before purchasing ribbon, printers need to nail down project volume expectancies and hardware needs. Gallet maintains that while ribbon lengths of 300 to 600 meters are typical, length is limited only by printer capacity. A 350 meter ribbon can usually accommodate 6000 4˝ x 6˝ labels. Japan Pulp & Paper's Smith advises printers to plan purchases with ribbon shelf-life in mind. Wax ribbon will keep for a year, resin ribbon slightly longer, he notes.