Grinding It Out With Town Coffee
IPSi, like most of the country, runs partially on caffeine (the other part being our love of labels and passion for efficiency, but we will get to that later), so we were more than happy to help when Rich Robertson of Town Coffee Company reached out to us with a need for a labeling solution.
Since Town Coffee is a startup, we were able to build a custom labeling solution from the ground up. Their colorful and somewhat elaborate label design meant that there was only one printer for the job- the Epson ColorWorks C6000A inkjet color label printer. At 1200 DPI, we knew that the beautiful designs on the labels would be as clear and vibrant as they deserved! Furthermore, the ability to automatically cut between each label leaves them with no money tied up in label inventory, since the same continuous gloss paper roll can be used for a 3” x 6” label and a 3” x 12” label. We will return to this later.
One of the other benefits to working with a startup is that there is no preexisting database to wrestle with. As we do when kicking off a project with any of our other clients, we sat down with Rich and looked over his concept design for the labels, breaking down every line of text on the label into things that will change and things that will not. Every item that would change with the label would need to be a column in the database or entered at print time. Once we had touched on every aspect of the label, turned each variable piece of information into a column header, and made some small design changes, it was time for us to get to work on the technical side.
Excel integration is very easy to do with NiceLabel’s built-in database connection wizard. It is also possible to write custom SQL statements within the wizard, but a simple connection like this was functional out of the box. Once we had the connection set up, we got to work setting up each of the column headers as NiceLabel data sources. Using the built-in record selector on NiceLabel’s PowerForm Builder, I set up a table to display the content of the Excel spreadsheet and narrowed the visible columns down to the ones that would be used to search. When a record is selected, all the data on the label changes to match the corresponding row!
Using NiceLabel’s custom event builder, we also set the program to automatically print the label that goes on the back of the bag as well, including a checkbox option to turn either front or back label off in case a re-print is needed.
Up until this point, Town Coffee has been printing approximately 200 labels per month. However, with an in increase in demand comes new labeling requirements! Since implementation, we have not only added the ability for Town Coffee to print personalized labels for specific customers, but added an entirely new label format. The best part? They didn’t even need to buy new labels! As mentioned earlier, even though the new label is 15” (check) long, it is still 3” wide, which means that we can print it on the same material as the other labels. Once the new label design had been settled upon, adding a new user interface screen in NiceLabel was easy, and we could even use the same spreadsheet and data sources!
The ability to seamlessly move from a single, nearly static label to a multi-label solution is truly a testament to the scalability of NiceLabel!
The customization that this printer gives us is amazing. We can make slight changes to our labels for sizes and choices and print them as we need them. No wasted money in inventory and wait times. We can also make changes to our labels and gauge customer response.
Owner, Town Coffee Company
About Integrated Productivity Systems LLC (IPSi): IPSi specializes in optimizing mission-critical business processes around enterprise label printing and barcoding data collection in manufacturing and distribution companies. Our areas of expertise include fixing inefficient workflows in product and shipping label generation, mobile barcode data collection, inventory and warehouse management, automated label application, and automated bagging and labeling of finished goods. By helping companies streamline and re-engineer mission-critical workflows, our customers are able to reduce costs, eliminate errors, and sustain flexible and scalable operations. We are passionate about helping our customers leverage technology to develop simple, cost-effective systems that ensure their operations run efficiently all day, every day. IPSi's Website
About NiceLabel: Nicelabel offers options for both large and small businesses. Their designer is optimized for one or few users, while their full label management system offers unique tools that excel at keeping track of label printing on a large scale. Their new cloud-based software is capable of managing to print across multiple locations, allowing larger businesses to take full control of the process. NiceLabel's Website
About Epson ColorWorks: Epson’s line of ColorWorks inkjet color label printers has transformed the way business print across countless industries including food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and retail. Their wide range of price points and capabilities create the flexibility and accessibility that helps them find their homes in business of all sizes. Epson ColorWorks Website