[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Label Printer Recommendations

Wed Feb 11 10:18:50 EST 2026

Hi Alexander

We have been using a thermal transfer printer with spun-bound polyester medium and wax/resin ribbon for about 25 years now in our wet collections as well as our tissue collections (where we use cryo-safe adhesive labels).

Our printer has been extremely reliable and is networked so that it can be printed to by any and all of our divisions here at the BI.  A built in cutter and label tray allows for labels to be individually cut and collected on the printer for pickup.  The 600-dpi version of the printer will print down to 4 point font perfectly legibly and will also support barcodes.  You can print to these printers like any other printer from Word, Excel or your CMS.

I have attached the specs on the printer (ours is no longer available but I have heard good things about the CAB SQUIX printers) as well as a pricing sheet from a company here in the US that sells a museum solution (pricing may be out of date).

Happy to answer any other questions you may have

Andy

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Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager
University of Kansas
Biodiversity Institute

Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
USA

Tel: (785) 864-3863<tel:%28785%29%20864-3863>
Fax: (785) 864-5335<tel:%28785%29%20864-5335>
Email: abentley at ku.edu<mailto:abentley at ku.edu>

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258

http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu<http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu/>

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________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Dirk Neumann <d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de>
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2026 12:42 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Label Printer Recommendations

Hi Julian,

I am not sure if you have checked this, but there is a very comprehensive resource on the SPHNC Wiki on labels: https://spnhc.org/labeling-natural-history-collections/

Label printing has two main components, the printer, and the printing medium. Both should meet archival standards. The problem with printers is, that they are usually have a (technically) limited life span (planned obsolescence), so it might be worth looking into industry-rated solutions or contacting major archives or libraries in your area which kind of printers and printing media they use for dry labels.

In general, thermal label printer and laser printer can produce labels of archival quality. For laser printers, the roughness and coating of the paper surface is decisive for the label quality. Sadly, standards for archival paper only refer to the upper and lower surface layer of the paper, but not necessarily for the pulp.

If you opt for an laser printer rather than a thermal printer, it would be worth testing this printer with different archival papers first. Ideally, the paper should have a higher paper weight and long fibres and be lignin-free / be without wood pulp. The disadvantage of some archival acid-free cotton papers however is, that they use starch-based glues for the pulp, which might created an IPM issue (e.g. silverfish and paper fish (sic!) love paper - and starch).

The international standard for "permanent paper" is ISO 9706, for "archival" paper ISO 11108. Apparently in the US, there are also recommendations for permanent paper issued by the library of Congress and the National Archives, which might be worth looking at.

Depending on the storage situation and collection, it might be worth specific papers for different dry collections.

As often, not straight forward, but hopefully useful.
Dirk

Am 11.02.2026 um 01:34 schrieb Julian Alexander Birnbach:
Hello All,
I am looking at purchasing a label printer for collections use. As the collection I steward is small but broad in materials and preservation types, I am looking for a printer that can print both adhesive and non-adhesive/ tied labels if possible. I have a system for wet collection labeling that works well, so I am not worried about having labels that need to withstand preservatives.
My main goal is to increase labeling speed (I am still handwriting most labels) and begin adding barcodes.

It seems like a thermal label printer with a resin ribbon would be best but I am curious what others are using and why/ how they are working out for their needs?

If anyone has recommendations for label printer setups or other insights, it would be greatly appreciated.

--

Julian Birnbach

Natural History Collection Specialist

San Francisco Zoo and Gardens

jbirnbach at sfsu.edu<mailto:jbirnbach at sfsu.edu> | julianb at sfzoo.org<mailto:julianb at sfzoo.org>

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--
Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels
Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts;
Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Grüter (Kaufm. Geschäftsführer)
Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn
Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael H. Wappelhorst
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