Mobile printing definitely has advantages over stationary printing: being able to print on the fly, not having to walk back to a print station, not printing large batches, and reducing duplicate prints. For the longest time there was a void in mobile printing however. Whenever someone would need a label that could endure high temperatures or moisture or chemicals, there really weren't any good options available because mobile printers primarily use direct thermal (DT) printing technology.
DT printed images, like pay-at-the-pump receipts, are not designed to last long. There had been attempts to fill this void with DT synthetic materials, TT labels with a removable ribbon layer attached to the top, or other types of technologies to manipulate the way the image would appear on a label, but they all had their limitations. Then
Zebra released the
P4T mobile barcode printer.
The P4T uses thermal transfer printing technology that utilizes a ribbon to create the printed image, just like many stationary printers do. This now allows for the P4T to use paper or synthetic labels, like polyester or polypropylene. This greatly expands the number of applications used for mobile printing. You could even use the P4T to print fixed asset labels. Zebra learned from the mistakes of the PT403, their previous TT mobile printer, and made a new product that does not have the problems of its predecessor. So when someone asks if there is a mobile printer that can print labels that will last, the P4T is the answer.
Something else that makes the P4T unique is that some models have the ability to encode RFID labels. If someone chooses to get this option it means that they have "future proofed" their investment so that if or when their company decides to use RFID, they don't have to go out and by a new fleet of printers.
