At our recent CaresTalk, “Every Issue You’ve Had with Your Label & Wristband Printers Answered,” our panel of healthcare id printer experts answered several questions we commonly hear about printers. From this discussion we realized there are some pervasive healthcare ID printer myths.
Have a myth of your own that you would like to see addressed or other healthcare id printer questions? Send an email to marketing@caresfield.com and one of our experts will follow up.
Myth: We need to use the labels provided by the software or printer vendor.
False: Caresfield will send out samples beforehand to make sure that the labels work. Several factors determine whether the labels will work:
- Width of label
- Kinds of material
- Core and outside diameter
Myth: There are no national standardizations for printed colors to signify particular patient alert information.
False: The FDA recently asked that purple be exclusively used to communicate DNR alerts for patient identification. In addition, healhcare facilities apply similarly colored labels to patient charts: https://www.insight.com/en_US/content-and-resources/2017/05232017-hospitals-turn-to-color-printing-to-enhance-patient-experience.html
Further, the AHA has strongly recommends using three categories for color standardization when printing patient identification materials:
- Red for allergies
- Yellow for fall risk
- Purple for DNR
Myth: We can’t use our printers to print labels when the network is down, or the printers are offline.
Somewhat False: Xpress Systems’ printers can print as long as power is available.
Myth: If I‘m printing with a black bar on my label, I need to purchase a new printer for each use case.
False: You can make this adjustment on the computer with the software controlling the printer. In the case of Xpress systems and some other printers, users can immediately make changes on the printer itself.
Myth: If I am seeing smudging while printing direct thermal, I probably have a printer issue since all direct thermal labels are all pretty much designed the same way.
False: A higher-quality top coated direct thermal label will help you print a crisper image. More cheaply made labels with poorly finished top coats tend to smear more.
Myth: There aren’t any admissions wristbands that offer both patient comfort and hand sanitizer resistance to prevent smudging.
False: The Xpress Systems’ SensaBand offers both maximum patient comfort and is highly resistant to smudging. It’s even resistant to hand sanitizer.
Myth: When we are experiencing smudging/smearing with our printer, it’s time to replace it. Cleaning the print head will have no impact on reducing smudging.
False: You should clean print heads on both thermal transfer and direct thermal printers about once a week in a high print volume environment.
Myth: The cost of printing wristband companion labels from a thermal roll (e.g. one label across) on demand is roughly the same as the cost of laser wristband sheets.
Mostly false: With XPress Systems’ on-demand printers, printing of on-demand labels is one-third the cost of laser sheets.
- No toner required
- Print only the quantity you need
We hope we’ve cleared up these healthcare ID printer myths. If you’d like to learn more, check out our blog post Thermal Printers in Healthcare: An Overview of Best Uses, Considerations, and Maintenance.
