Toshiba TEC Near Edge Printers
Toshiba TEC makes several industrial near edge printers for businesses that want a high-performance solution for printing thermal transfer labels, barcodes, and tags.
What is Near Edge Printing?
Near edge printing is a type of thermal transfer printing technology that uses the front edge of a print head to improve efficiency and increase printing speed. To better understand near edge printing's advantages, let's take a look at traditional thermal transfer printing.
A traditional thermal transfer printer uses a flat print head with the thermal heating elements located in the middle of the print head. The label and ribbon move beneath the flat print head together. The used ribbon is spooled onto a core after it exits the print head.
Near edge printers, on the other hand, use an angled print head that contains the thermal heating elements near the front edge. The ribbon and label move beneath the front part of the print head.
Several of the Toshiba TEC near edge printer models have a ribbon saver mechanism that starts and stops the ribbon as needed, using the ribbon more efficiently. The used ribbon is also spooled onto a core, but it lasts much longer because less ribbon is used overall.
The main advantages of near edge printing are:
- Faster than traditional thermal transfer printing
- Use ribbon more efficiently
- Automatic media thickness detection
- Fast setup time
Toshiba TEC near edge printers are available in 4-, 6-, and 8-inch models with print resolutions of either 203 or 305 dpi. These near edge printers use large ribbon rolls -- up to 600 meters depending on the model -- for fewer ribbon changes.
Toshiba TEC near edge printers are ideal for a variety of applications, including:
- Retail price tags and labels
- Manufacturing labels
- Chemical drum labels
- Inventory labels
- Health care specimen tracking
- Logistics labels
- Barcodes
- and more...
4-inch Toshiba TEC Near Edge Printers
The B-EX4T1 is Toshiba TEC's 4-inch near edge printer equipped with 32 MB DRAM and 16MB Flash. There are two versions of this model: a 203 dpi model and a 305 dpi model. These versions are virtually identical aside from their print resolution differences.
This Energy Star-certified 4-inch near edge printer prints at up to 14 inches per second (ips), making it a fast choice for printing labels, barcodes, and tags. The B-EX series also has a dual motor ribbon system for better ribbon handling and no ribbon wrinkling. It accepts large ribbon rolls up to 600 meters (1968 feet) to minimize user intervention and is RFID ready should you need this technology in the future.
The print head has a long life and is rated up to 3 million linear inches. Snap-in, user-installable print heads make replacement easy with no tools required. In fact, you can easily swap between 203 and 305 dpi print heads. The Toshiba TEC B-EX4T1 supports a number of barcode symbologies and both TPCL (Toshiba Print Command Language) and ZPL (Zebra Programming Language).
The ribbon saving feature is optional on 4-inch Toshiba TEC B-EX4T1 printers.
6-inch Toshiba TEC Near Edge Printers
Toshiba TEC's 6-inch near edge printer, the B-EX6T1, is available in either a 203 dpi or 305 dpi version, both equipped with 32 MB DRAM and 64 MB Flash. The Toshiba TEC B-EX6T1 prints at up to 12 ips and accepts large 600-meter (1968 feet) ribbon rolls, making it a fast solution for your business's printing needs.
Like the B-EX4T1, the B-EX6T1 has a dual ribbon motor and accepts large ribbon rolls up to 600 meters (1968 feet). It has a print head rated for up to 3 million linear inches. The print head and platens are user installable and snap right into place without tools. The Toshiba TEC B-EX6T1 supports a number of barcode symbologies and both TPCL (Toshiba Print Command Language) and ZPL (Zebra Programming Language).
Ribbon Save comes standard on the Toshiba TEC B-EX6T1. It is Energy Star certified as well as RFID ready.
8-inch Toshiba TEC Near Edge Printers
The Toshiba TEC B-SX8T is an 8-inch, 305 dpi near edge printer with a wide print head for printing larger labels including chemical, textile, and manufacturing labels up to 8 inches wide. It has 16 MB DRAM, 16 MB Flash, and a maximum print speed of up to 8 ips. This 8-inch printer accepts ribbons up to 300 meters long (984 feet). Ribbon Save is standard on the Toshiba TEC B-SX8T.
The Toshiba TEC B-SX8T supports a number of barcode symbologies and TPCL (Toshiba Print Command Language). Its print head life is rated up to 1 million linear inches.
Order a Toshiba TEC Performance Near Edge Printer Today
DuraFast Label Company is an authorized dealer of Toshiba TEC printers. We offer a wide range of Toshiba TEC printing solutions including desktop and industrial label printers as well as near edge Toshiba TEC thermal transfer ribbons and blank labels.