Zebra Printer, Intermec Printer Service Strategy Part 2: When Return-to-Depot Makes Sense

Filed under: intermec, zebra, Barcode Printer Repair, Announcements

Last week we posted about when it can make really good sense to rely on an onsite maintenance contract to support Zebra barcode printers or similar Intermec, Datamax or Sato models.  Our recommendation, perhaps surprisingly to some, tilted heavily (sorry) in favor of making the support strategy call based on the weight of the label printer.

Fortunately, for the sake of economy (which means there is an opportunity for you to save your organization some maintenance budget money here) the reverse is also true:  it makes practical and economic sense to use a return-to-depot strategy for Intermec, Datamax, or Zebra printers in approximately the 55 lbs. and under weight category.

Why It Matters.  First there are a ton of barcode label printers in this size class in use today, so there is a lot of money to potentially be saved.  There are a host of examples of field-proven label printers of this type from Zebra (Zebra S600, Zebra S400), Intermec (the Intermec 3400, Intermec 4420), and many more that do a great job in industrial, distribution, retail and healthcare environments.   Most of these devices are smaller, so-called "table-top" barcode label printers and will range in weight anywhere from about 17lbs on the light end up to that mid-50lb threshold on the heavy end.  These printers, when properly packed (wrapped in bubble wrap about three times around, placed in a properly-sized, heavy duty corrugated box) can ship via UPS or Fedex ground service, safely and reliably. 

The advantage to the user organization in this case is the savings and (and usually, the repair quality).  Depot repair is much less expensive to provide than on-site service for the repair or maintenance company.  There are obviously no travel costs (tech travel time, vehicles, fuel) and the really big thing is that in a repair center, you get great economies of scale.  Over time, the depot-based technician will have at least a four times advantage in productivity (on average) compared to the "road warrior" tech.  The on-site printer maintenance customer pays the freight -- the depot repair printer customer reaps the savings benefit.

Also, because the repair center (when it's well run) is the home of all the spare parts, all the standard repair diagnostics and repair processes, etc., repair and maintenance quality should be more reliably and consistently delivered on average, when compared to on-site. 

Finally, what makes a label printer "return-to-depot" service strategy really viable for this class of Zebra or Intermec printer is that spare printers are so affordable.  Typically, for only a few hundred dollars, high quality used and refurbished spare units are widely available in the market so that your operation doesn't suffer downtime.