[RetailEdge Moderator]

Printing labels on the Zebra printer is a good idea. It is pretty simple to print these out when the customer purchases the gift card so I am not sure that pre-printing is the way to go but it is up to you.

Here are some things to consider with cards:

1. The length of time you want the cards to last. The direct thermal printers will print out a label but like a thermal receipt is prone to fading over time. If you want it to last longer a thermal transfer printer does not have the fading issue. However, you do have to purchase the ribbons and

2. If you are pre-printing, then you might want to consider just printing to avery label stock on your regular Windows printer. The real advantage of the desktop printers are:

a. the convenience of being able to print out one label at a time,
b. not having to deal with partially printed sheets of labels,
c. not having to switch paper and labels in your Windows printer, and
d. different label stocks (jewelry butterfly tags, rat-tail tags, removable adhesives, etc.)

When you are pre-printing labels for a large number of items/cards then you don't really have these issue and a Windows printer might do it for you.

3. Cost. A Zebra printer will cost between $200-$300 depending on model. If you already have a printer for printing your shelf labels or inventory tags, then it is a sunk cost and does not cost you anything more to use it other than the cost of the labels and ribbons. Although the labels for a Zebra printer are significantly less than Avery sheets you will have to print out a very large number of labels to get payback (~40,000 labels).

Also gift cards and loyalty cards are relatively inexpensive. They cost around $0.50 each. So you can have about 500 gift cards printed before you get payback on a printer. Gift cards and loyalty cards can be reused with RetailEdge. Gift cards and loyalty cards should be looked at as wallet advertising for your business and so a good presentation is important. Every time the customer opens their wallet, there you are.

We do have people that print their own cards and we think it is a good feature and why we offer it. We have a number of customers who use RetailEdge and sell very inexpensive items and so a $0.50 card would eat into their margins too much and make their own Gift Cards for pennies.

We also sell Zebra Card Printers and so you can print your own laminated cards. And although we would love to sell you a printer you should consider these issues before you determine which way you want to go.

Hope this helps.