Laser printers have long been used in label printing applications primarily because laser printer hardware was already in use and its multi-function capability made it easy to adopt into the application. Since adoption was easy, often operating costs, cost of ownership, and technology solution evaluations were overlooked.

After laser label printing applications became the norm, users began to see the shortfalls of using laser printers to print labels. Users are now demanding better label printing solutions even though they must overcome a large installed base of laser printers.

In addition, they must deal with the transition from laser to thermal. PCL – Printer Command Language – is the most common command language utilized in laser printers. Replacement of these printers requires one of three transition methods:

1. Drop PCL and reprogram in a label printer's native command language.
2. Reformat the PCL laser sheet and install PCL compatible label printing solutions.
3. Utilize a standard operating system driver and reformat the printed page.