IEC chooses Epson’s LabelWorks label printers

IEC approached Epson to buy label printers suitable for its many activities. These include designing, selling, installing and maintaining audio-visual equipment in sectors as diverse as hospitality, media, banking, transport and event management.

Alain Pesch, Manager of AV Integrators at IEC, said: "Our work calls for the regular printing of labels, which are used to increase customer understanding, simplify the use of equipment and aid the maintenance, logistics and storage of products hired out for events. We needed durable, easy-to-use label printers, and the price of ribbons and environmental commitments were key factors in choosing Epson's solutions."

IEC purchased 100 LW-400 portable label printers – one for each integrator working in the field – and five LW-900P production label printers for the warehouse and logistics departments.

IEC's installers work in the field, sometimes in environments that are difficult to access, installing and maintaining their customers' audio-visual equipment. They therefore need an easy-to-use, multi-functional label printer such as the LW-400.

"We need to be able to add barcodes, text on one or two lines, print colour labels, etc, and Epson's label makers let us do all of these things," adds Alain.

The backlit screen has proved particularly useful when labelling equipment in dark spaces, and so have the shortcut keys.

At the end of each installation, IEC employees label all of the equipment to help identify it and make it easier for their customers to use. They therefore needed an intuitive, portable product, like the LW-400. The durability of the LabelWorks ribbons has also proved very useful in the field.

IEC's events company, Soft Events, needs to label the equipment stored and hired out for events. Therefore it required a connected label printer capable of printing high volumes of labels for keeping track of products with printed text, barcodes and logos. These labels are scanned when a product is first added to the stock, and then each time it goes out or comes back.

This means that projectors, servers and cables can be clearly identified and recognised. The durabiltiy of the labels and their strong adhesives are also appreciated by IEC.

At IEC, the LabelWorks LW-900P is connected to a computer installed in the warehouse and is operated via the Label Editor software, which enables the creation of labels from databases, a very practical solution for stock management.

"The ribbons are longer, which means so our teams change them less often, and this has enabled us to reduce our stock and budget for consumables," says Alain.

With nine-metre LabelWorks ribbons, reduced printing margins and tough consumables, IEC has made substantial savings by using Epson's label printers.

The company is also pleased with Epson's ecological commitments: "We were looking for a partner who had an environmental policy that met our requirements," adds Alain.