When shopping for barcode printers, it’s essential to consider certain accessories to maximize the printer’s performance. Many experienced retail, food, and manufacturing businesses often opt to equip their printers with an auto cutter. But what exactly is it, and what does it do? Let’s explore the functions of an auto cutter and see why it might be a valuable addition to your printer.
What is an Auto Cutter?
An auto cutter is an auxiliary device integrated into barcode label printers.
It facilitates the automatic cutting of the printed label roll into individual barcode labels upon each print completion. This eliminates the need for manual tearing or separation, significantly enhancing work efficiency and streamlining the workflow.
Why is an Auto Cutter Necessary?
An auto cutter can cut labels made from various materials, including standard paper rolls, coated paper, plastic label rolls, and soft fabric labels. Businesses in the retail, apparel, food, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors typically install auto cutters on their barcode label machines to further boost efficiency.
For instance, in electronics and instrument manufacturing, materials like silver-coated labels are used for product nameplates. These materials have a smooth surface and a delicate texture but require high precision in cutting.
Industrial barcode printers equipped with a cutter module can precisely cut large volumes of product labels, ensuring neat and smooth edges, which enhance the overall aesthetic and professionalism of the labels.
Moreover, the auto cutter module can work synchronously with the industrial barcode printer, cutting immediately after printing and reducing the label production cycle.
Another typical application is the cutting of wash care labels and ribbons, widely used in the textile and gift packaging industries.
Taking the iDPRT iT4X desktop barcode printer as an example, by installing a high-quality auto fabric cutter, textile fabric processing facilities and factories can rapidly print and precisely cut wash care labels, shoe tongue labels, ribbons, etc., effectively preventing frayed edges on the labels.
Types of Auto Cutters
Auto cutter modules can generally be categorized into two types:
1. Guillotine cutter: Uses sharp blades to cut, suitable for labels and paper of certain thicknesses.
2. Rotary cutter: This refers to a cutting device that utilizes a rotating blade for cutting operations. It is particularly suitable for cutting thin materials such as PP, PET, PE film labels, as well as nylon and polyester fabric labels. Its operation is smoother and more precise.
iDPRT desktop and industrial barcode printers support various auto cutter modules, which are easy to install. These printers are widely utilized in sectors such as apparel retail, healthcare, and industrial manufacturing. They aid businesses in achieving high-efficiency production by integrating label printing and cutting processes, thereby improving both production efficiency and label quality.
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