All about consumables for commercial equipment

Consumables in Trade

In business, trading equipment is used, and various consumables are loaded into this equipment, such as receipt paper, labels, and so on. It's convenient to purchase consumables in trading equipment stores, as the sellers in specialized stores can immediately help select the appropriate material for your equipment. To prevent equipment breakdowns and ensure it lasts as long as possible, it's important to choose high-quality consumables that are suitable for your specific equipment model.

What Types of Consumables Are There?

Labels

Labels are used for marking goods with a label printer. They come in various sizes, colors, and shapes. It's also important to consider the roll diameter and winding.

How to Choose the Label Size:

• For marking goods on store shelves and packaging weighted goods — small labels of 30x20 or 40x25mm are most commonly used.

• For packaging goods, marking boxes, packaged products on production lines, bags, crates — 58x40 mm labels are most convenient.

• For marking parcels for shipment — large stickers of 110x110 mm are printed. Transport invoices are printed on such labels in logistics and transport companies, such as Nova Poshta's TTN. These labels are used by wholesale base sellers and online stores to send goods to customers by mail.

Labels come in three types: Thermal, Thermal TOP, and Vellum. When are they used?

• Thermal (Thermo Eco) — these are labels for thermal printing that change color under the influence of heat. They are economical but not resistant to moisture, ultraviolet, and mechanical damage. Suitable for short-term labeling. Such labels are often seen on goods in supermarkets. They are also used for printing logistics labels for quick identification.

• Thermal TOP (Thermo Top) — have an additional protective layer that makes them more resistant to external influences. Used for products stored in challenging conditions, such as in refrigerators, freezers. Also — for pharmaceutical products, beverages, and bottles that may come into contact with condensation.

• Vellum — semi-gloss labels printed using thermal transfer method. They are durable, resistant to ultraviolet and mechanical damage, suitable for long-term storage. They are used as logistics labels for storing information for a long time and transporting goods so that labels do not wear off due to mechanical impact, rubbing, and stacking on top of each other.

What is Printed on the Label?

The label prints the product name, barcode, price, article number, seller information, and logo. This information is printed by the product accounting program. The choice of labels depends not only on the purpose but also on the printer model on which they are printed.

Ribbon

Ribbon is a coloring tape used in thermal transfer printers for printing barcodes on Vellum labels. There are ribbons for regular printing and for textile printing. Ribbons come in green, blue, black, red, gold, and metallic colors, but black is most commonly used. Like labels, ribbons come in various sizes. Since they are used for printing on labels, their sizes should match the label sizes. To choose the right ribbon, inform the seller of your label printer model.

Ribbons for regular printing and textile printing have significant differences. The main difference is in the composition of the coloring tape. Textile ribbon is more complex to manufacture; it contains special resins that make the print resistant to water, temperature, and chemicals, so such ribbon is more expensive.

Regular ribbon — cheaper, used for printing on paper and synthetic labels. For example, for matte paper labels, glossy labels, cardboard, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester. Such labels are used to mark most goods in supermarkets, stores, and manufacturing: food products, cosmetics, household chemicals. Regular ribbon is used for printing barcodes on packages, information plates, and stickers for equipment, brochures, flyers, business cards.

Textile ribbon — more expensive, specially designed for printing on fabric tapes such as nylon and satin. Such labels are very resistant to mechanical influences; they can even be washed and steamed. Textile ribbon is used for printing labels on clothing, decorative elements and logos on fabric, marking workwear (e.g., uniforms for medical or production workers).

Cash Register Tapes or Receipt Tapes

According to Ukrainian law, the seller is obliged to issue a receipt to the buyer after purchasing goods. The receipt is printed on receipt tape.

Cash register tapes or receipt tapes are rolls of paper tape used in receipt printers, fiscal registers, and bank terminals.

Types of Receipt Tapes

By printing type, receipt tape can be thermal, capillary, and ink:

• Thermal tapes are purchased for thermal printing of high-quality, wear-resistant receipts. Upon exiting the printer, such a receipt can be immediately handled; the ink does not smudge. These tapes come in widths from 40 to 80 mm. The most popular — 57.5 mm.

• Capillary type receipt tape allows printing two receipts at once: one for the seller, the other — for the cashier for sales control. Such receipt tape has two layers. Information is printed directly on the lower layer, and on the upper — with durable thermal printing.

• Ink-type receipt tape is made of offset paper and designed for direct ink printing. Such receipt tape usually has red marking 5 meters before the end of the roll. This makes it convenient to monitor the amount of paper to replace it in time.

Inner Diameter of the Receipt Tape Roll

To choose the correct tape size for your printer, it's also important to pay attention to the inner diameter of the receipt tape roll. The inner diameter of the roll can be from 12 to 19 mm. There are receipt printers that only fit rolls with a diameter of 12 mm; there are more universal ones — for both 12 mm and 19 mm.

What Does the Density of Receipt Tape Affect?

Receipt tapes can have different material densities, and this affects the storage period of receipts:

• 48 g/m² — storage period no more than a year, used in kiosks, retail chains, stores, pharmacies.

• 55-58 g/m² — storage period up to 3 years, often found in cash registers, ATMs, terminals.

• 70 g/m² — storage period up to 5 years, for the banking sector.

Textile Ribbons

In all fabric products, a label with product information—such as size, material composition, washing instructions, etc.—is sewn into the seam during production. For this labeling, textile ribbons are used. A textile ribbon can be loaded into a label printer.

Textile ribbon is a material used to label fabric products: bed linens, towels, potholders, clothing, blankets, pillows, tents, protective fabric covers, mattresses, seat belts, and footwear. The label printer prints information from a computer onto the textile ribbon: washing modes, ironing instructions, material composition, item sizes, manufacturer. Then the ribbon is cut into separate pieces, which are sewn into the product seam.

What types of textile ribbons are there and what does it affect?

Textile ribbons can be polyester, nylon, or satin:

• Polyester — durable, smooth, soft, gentle to the touch, withstands high temperatures up to +100°C and low down to -10°C. The print does not wash off and withstands dry cleaning.

• Nylon — impregnated with fire-resistant material, so it does not burn but melts in an open flame. This is an inexpensive and most commonly used ribbon for clothing labeling, but it is stiffer than polyester, so it is not used for underwear.

• Satin — very soft, feels like silk, does not irritate the skin, used for labeling delicate items and underwear. The printed label on such ribbon is durable, the ink does not wash off or get damaged by temperature fluctuations.

How to choose a textile ribbon for labeling products? Tips

1. Check if the ribbon in your label printer is suitable for fabric printing — textile ribbons require a coloring ribbon specifically designed for textile printing.

2. Choose a ribbon material with characteristics similar to the fabric of the product. For example, there is no point in sewing an expensive, temperature- and chemical-resistant ribbon into a product made of delicate fabrics intended for hand washing. The product and its label should have the same resistance to moisture, temperature, UV, ironing, and chemical exposure.

3. Consider the purpose of the product, how it will be used, and by whom. If it’s a label for a garment worn against the skin, it should not be uncomfortable, irritating, or pressing. For children’s items, it is important that the ribbon is hypoallergenic, such as polyester.

Tags

In retail, tags are also used for labeling goods. They are attached to products using special holders. Tags can be plastic, cardboard, or even metal. The most common are synthetic polymer tags of varying hardness and cardboard tags. Their shapes and sizes can vary widely. Tags display product information, manufacturer, logo, and sometimes manufacturing date, price, expiration date, and material.

Tags are attached to almost all products during manufacturing: toys, clothing, bags, textiles, tableware, household items, and many other goods. Most often, cardboard tags are used—they are quite universal. But there are also special ones, for example, synthetic tags for labeling plants. They are lightweight and have a special shape to easily attach to the plant without damaging it.

Cartridges, Tag Fasteners

Tags are attached to products using tag fasteners. The quality of this small item is actually very important for sellers and manufacturers. Its strength determines how securely the tag is attached to the item and whether it will stay on during transportation, packaging, or fitting. The material of the fastener should also be smooth and flexible to avoid damaging the labeled product.

The tagging process is usually automated — tag fasteners are loaded into a tagging gun and quickly attached to the product.

Printer Stand — External Holder for Large Rolls

Typically, rolls of paper are installed inside the printer, but in some cases, the volume of printing is so high that the material runs out quickly and needs frequent replacement. This disrupts workflow and slows down staff or production. To avoid frequent replacements and ensure continuous printing, businesses purchase large roll spools that exceed the printer's internal compartment and install an external roll holder. External holders are also convenient for textile ribbons.

So, no matter how good the equipment is, the final result also depends on the quality of consumables. Therefore, it is important to buy reliable, high-quality materials from specialized stores. You can buy consumables in the Torgsoft online store. If you’re not sure how to choose the right product, our specialists can help.