Big News in the Point of Sale Industry

If you haven't heard the news already, Toshiba TEC recently announced its upcoming acquisition of IBM's Retail Store Solutions business. The $850 million deal, which is scheduled to close late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter will help to support Toshiba TEC's expansion in North America and Europe. Greg Busak's article for the IHL Group says that this is arguably the most significant announcement in the last 10 years for the point of sale industry.


A ZDnet blog post reports that the deal is part of Toshiba’s efforts to secure clients such as Walmart and Toys ‘R’ Us, amongst others, which IBM already holds as part of its customer base. IBM’s retail store services’ revenue in 2011 was approximately $1.15 billion, with over 1,000 employees worldwide.


According to the Toshiba TEC release, Toshiba will acquire IBM’s Retail Store Solutions overall business operation functions globally, including development, sales, and related in-store maintenance. "The opportunities in retail store solutions are expected to grow by increasing demand in POS systems,” stated Mamoru Suzuki, president and CEO, Toshiba TEC, in a release. “In addition, demand for multi-channel integration and enhancement of store back office management accelerates further expansion of sales.”


We thought this was news worthy and of interest to you, our readers. Please let us know your thoughts on the acquisition.  

Direct Thermal Technology and the Benefits of Thermal Printing

What is Thermal Printing?

In the thermal printing process, the image or words on the paper are produced by direct heat transmission. Thermal paper rolls are essentially a self contained printing system. The paper is manufactured by applying surface coatings to paper with a chemical formula that include colorless dyes and developers. When the paper goes through a thermal printer, heat (thermal energy) from the thermal printhead causes the dye and developer to activate and form a high definition image. The thermal printhead consists of miniature heating elements distributed along its printing width. The heating elements are electronically controlled and produce thermal energy which activates a color reaction on the functional thermocoating. The numerous little dots this produces then go to make up letters, barcodes, and images.

What are the Benefits of Thermal Printing?

Thermal printing technology offers advantages including clear legible imaging, fast printing and low cost of ownership. In addition, Thermal printing offers:

1. Noise-free operation
2. 600 dpi capability
3. No ribbons or cartridges
4. Maintenance-free
5. Small printer footprint
6. Full graphics capability

In addition to thermal paper, thermal printing technology can also be used to print labels, tickets and tags. High printing speed, excellent bar code contrast, resistance and portability have contributed to the undeniable success of direct thermal technology for most variable data label applications.

What is Light Weight Thermal Paper or 48 gram Thermal Paper?

Light weight thermal paper or 48 gram thermal paper refers to a direct thermal paper stock that has a 48 gram basis weight. This paper grade is sometimes referred to as economy thermal, hi-yield thermal, 2.1 caliper thermal or simplicity 48 thermal. 48 gram thermal paper was introduced back in the early to mid 2000’s. The industry started to shift from 55 gram (2.3 mil) thermal to the 48 gram (2.1 mil) thermal paper when the major thermal printer OEM’s including IBM and Epson found there was no down side to the printers output or speed.

What are the benefits of the 48 gram thermal roll paper?

Because of its thinner caliper, 48 gram thermal paper offers several benefits:

• 10% more paper per master roll or small converted roll: For example, a 3.0” OD roll could now hold 273’ vs. the max of 230’ of the 53-55 gram base weight.

• Fewer roll changes: The higher yield of paper means you have to change the roll less often.

• More paper per case

• More paper per skid for large volume users

The common 48 gram thermal paper grades sold and converted in the United States are:

• Appleton Alpha 400-2.1 (BPA Free)

• Koehler KT 48 F20

• Koehler BPA Free KT 48 FA

• Kanzaki P30021 / BPA Free P300521

The most common converted 48 gram small thermal paper rolls are:

• 2 ¼” x 85’ thermal roll paper

• 3 1/8” x 230’ thermal roll paper

• 3 1/8” x 273’ thermal roll paper

What applications are a good fit for the 48 gram thermal paper?

48 gram thermal paper is best used in general point of sale receipt applications where the paper grade has been approved by the printer OEM and the paper will fit the application requirements. These applications generally don’t require any special image life, sensitivity, heat resistance, premium feel, image protection, paper thickness (caliper) or other specific requirements.

Are Digital Receipts the Wave of the Future?

If you have visited an Apple® store in the last few years, you've noticed that they offer the option to receive a digital (paperless) receipt instead of a traditional paper receipt at the time of purchase. Other large retailers including WalMart, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Gap, Sears and KMart are implementing paperless receipts as well. But are receipt paper rolls in jeopardy of becoming a thing of the past? Let's review what digital options retailers and consumers currently have to choose from:

Retailer Software

Companies like My Receipts, AllEtronic and Seamless Receipts now offer a platform that allows any retailer to offer eReceipts. With this new software, retailers now have the ability to track customer purchases and target their marketing more than ever before. There may still be stumbling blocks to consider however. While the e-receipt presents new marketing opportunities for retailers, many consumers worry about possible privacy issues as well as the automatic addition to mailing lists.

Newcomer Proximiant has a slightly different approach that may alleviate customer apprehension. Proximiant enables customers to have receipts beamed directly to their smartphone without having to share personal information with the store. The Customer simply installs a digital receipts app on their smart phone and then taps the phone on a small device at the checkout counter.

Consumer Hardware

If you aren't quite ready to make the transition from paper receipt, to digital receipt, there are other options available. A scanner with digital filing software from companies like The Neat Company, Fujitsu and Brother will scan, organize and store receipts and other important documents on your computer. In addition, a company named Lemon utilizes a smartphone application that allows you to snap a photo of a receipt which can be tagged for future reference.

For most consumers, the biggest benefits come during tax season. With digital receipts, all the purchases made earlier in the year are easily accessible. Digital receipts also ensure customers can make returns if need be, thereby enhancing the customer's experience. What is your take on digital receipts? Do you see it as the wave of the future? Do you see any other stumbling blocks that would prevent widespread implementation? We'd love to hear your feedback!

Point-of-Sale Receipts as a Marketing Tool

If you are looking for an affordable way to increase sales and encourage repeat business, look no further than your paper roll receipt paper. In the past, a point-of-sale (POS) receipt was simply used as a proof of purchase. Many POS terminals, POS printers, credit card terminals and cash registers now offer the capability to print custom messages on every receipt. This low cost tool makes it possible for you to market to your customers, every time they purchase from you.

Check out this white paper from CognitiveTPG, an integrated supplier of barcode printers, transaction printers, printheads, and label supplies. This informative paper discusses the continued rise of coupon redemption and the value that receipt marketing can bring for a fraction of a penny per receipt.

Has your business implemented any receipt marketing? Do you find it to be a successful marketing tool? We'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

QR Codes On Receipts

Though they aren’t necessarily new, QR (Quick Response) codes are showing up everywhere lately. You can find them in magazines, on business cards, storefront windows, product labeling and displays, billboards or catalogs (just to name a few!). Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application simply scan the image of the QR code to display text, a webpage, Vcard contact details, video and much more.

QR codes are a great way to engage potential and existing customers. That is one reason why some savvy businesses are printing QR codes directly onto their point-of-sale thermal paper receipt! Many POS terminals, POS printers, credit card terminals and cash registers now offer the capability to print graphics on every receipt. This low cost tool makes it possible for you to market to your customers, every time they purchase from you. Adding a QR code is a great way to reward current customers and encourages repeat business.

When used effectively, QR codes offer a strong call to action. When printed on a receipt, you can have your customized code link to:

1. Coupons
2. Contests
3. Surveys
4. Loyalty Programs
5. New products
6. Reviews






Technological advances have made it easier than ever to add custom content to receipts. We spoke with Star Micronics®, Citizen Systems® and CognitiveTPG®, three of the major point-of-sale printer manufacturers to determine their printing capabilities:

“QR codes are printed as bitmapped images (graphics) and users simply insert the QR code as a graphic or logo using the configuration utility of the printer model. For example, for the TSP100, the QR code is saved as a .jpg, so they can insert this QR code image into the configuration utility then set it to print at the top or bottom of the receipt.” Christophe Naasz, Director of Marketing for Star Micronics.

"Our print driver has the ability to scan the receipt printed and if a key word is contained in the receipt a coupon is printed. For example, if you are running a promotion on beer, if a beer purchase is scanned on the receipt a beer coupon would print. This coupon could contain a QR code on the receipt. We can print out a QR barcode in the header or footer as well." said Herb Netal, Dir., Engineering & Business Development for Citizen Systems.

"In thermal receipt printing the QR code can be printed as a graphic using middleware software to enhance the feature of the receipt. For instance CognitiveTPG two-color thermal and hybrid printers come with a receipt marketing tool to allow the user to add logos and graphics to the header or footer of the receipt. In this case the QR code would be entered as a graphic on the receipt. However this graphic has no actual relation to the printed transaction." said Angela Mansfield, Director of Corporate Marketing at Cognitive TPG. "In order to connect the QR code to the transaction the printer must be able to print it as a symbology or formula which is embedded in the firmware of the printer just as the 2D barcode is printed. The QR code can store more information than the standard 2D linear barcode which is one reason we are seeing an increase demand for this functionality. For instance there are some cases where the user wants to use the QR code to record the historical transaction and additional information in the case of a return to vendor application."

And here are a few technical tips to ensure success with QR code scanning:

* Test your QR codes with multiple readers and devices.
* Use a site like www.bitly.com to shorten the link to create a clean code.
* Make your codes at least 1″ x 1″ to ensure proper scanning.

In addition to printing QR codes directly onto your thermal receipt paper, you may also want to consider custom printed receipt paper rolls. Your message can be printed in full color which has been shown in studies to increase customer retention. For more information, visit our custom printed paper rolls page.

What are your thoughts on QR code technology and it's future? We'd love to hear your feedback!

Spot Color vs. 4-Color Process

As a continuation of our previous post, I will discuss the differences between two printing processes: Spot color and 4-color. Depending on the type of artwork that will be used for the custom printed paper roll job, one process may be a better fit than another. In this post I will give a basic overview of spot color and 4-color printing.

Spot Color consists of printing with one or more solid pre-mixed colors. The ink is printed directly on the paper or substraight. We use the Pantone Matching System (PMS) as our reference chart. PMS lists consist of colors with an ID number and the color mix or recipe to create that color. For Example PMS #2945 uses 60.6 parts of Process Blue, 36.4 parts of Reflex Blue and 3.0 parts of Black to create that shade. PMS colors are shown for both coated and uncoated media. Spot color printing is effective for reproducing logos or simple graphics. We can print spot colors in up to 3-5 colors on the back and front side of the sheet. A PMS color chart can be found here:
http://www.interplas.com/product_images/Tools/PMS%20color%20chart.pdf

When using multiple spot colors sometimes trapping (adding a slight overlap between colors) is used to avoid gaps between colors.

Overprinting can also be used, which involves colors being printed on top of one another. The diagram to the left shows the differences in printing methods:



4-color process printing uses screens to separate colors. The press can print dots on top of dots to mix colors to create the illusion of many more colors, thus helping to attain photographic types of images or graphics with lots of color depth. The following four colors are used by the printing press: Cyan (a blue-green color), Magenta (a reddish-pink color), Yellow and Black (CMYK).

Below you will see how the combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black printing plates create a full color photo:

Take a close look at the dots used to mix the colors.



Please keep in mind that these printing abilities are available, but are dependent on what you have in mind for your custom printed project. A receipt that features a photo may need a 4-color process job, while a simple one or two color logo may lend itself more to a spot color job. If you have any questions or if you would like to discuss a specific idea you please call us to discuss in more detail.