Pricing Guns: Are They Still the Fastest and Cheapest Way to Label Products?

Picture this; you have 10,000 packs of salmon that need a USE BY date printed clearly on them, a total budget of $100, and one day to get the job done. Sound impossible? Read on.

Pricing guns are a throwback to simpler times; manually operated, no power required, just ink and paper labels. The humble pricing gun looks like an archaic tool next to its contemporaries such as thermal desktop printers, barcodes, QR codes and RFID tagging. Yet there is still no other competitor on the market that can compare to their ease of use, convenience and sheer reliability.

When maintained adequately and routinely serviced, pricing guns have a near indefinite life expectancy. Even if certain components have been eroded from years of use and exposure to chemicals, their modular nature means that the Pricemark Servicing Department has been able to breathe life back into even the most worn and well used pricing guns.

Don’t want to read any further and instead just go with our advice on the most robust, well priced and easiest to use model? It’s the Jolly JH8 all day long. Used in the most demanding and time critical industries, it is lightweight, lightning fast, and practically indestructible! Available on the Pricemark website in both a pricing and dating format.

The tools are used in a wide field of different industries; food manufacturing, opportunity shops, scientific labs, big-box retail and nurseries just to name a few. Due to the wide discrepancies between the labelling requirements of different industries, differing environments and the treatment of price guns by the operators, you may think that their life expectancy would vary significantly. However, we have found the opposite to be true. As long as simple maintenance and care is used, your price gun should last you indefinitely.

From our observations across decades of helping customers with their pricing guns, depleted ink rollers are the primary cause of perceived faults. Over time ink rollers will fade and, if left long enough, erode. Many customers have come to us with pricing guns that have some kind of issue, whether it be faded print, blurred print or smudging. 9 times out of 10, the issue is fully resolved by changing the ink roller. We recommend changing your ink roller every 20-30 rolls of 1,000 labels that have been used; this tip applies to all pricing guns on the market regardless of brand, cost or application.

As a general rule, if it’s not the ink roller, check the interior of the pricing gun. Checking for labels or ink fragments stuck inside and cleaning appropriately can prevent any mechanical issues from occurring. A few minutes of maintenance each month can avoid your pricing gun ever needing to visit the Pricemark Service Department.

In short, if you want your pricing gun stand the test of time, follow these tips:

– Always load the labels correctly to avoid jamming
– Change your ink roller after every 20-30 rolls of labels
– Don’t use excessive force on the handle
– Avoid dropping the pricing gun repeatedly on hard surfaces
– Clean the interior when required with a non abrasive cleaner

By following the above steps you’ll find that your pricing guns can be the most effective long term solution to your labelling needs. If you do need a hand with a spare part, repair, or even want to give your pricing gun a full refurbishment, just get in touch with us on 1300 783 718 and we’ll get it booked in.