Use Case – GT-100E Handheld Thermal Inkjet Printer

Application Example – GT-100E Handheld Thermal Inkjet Printer

The Challenge

A supplier of construction materials in Graz manages shipments of concrete blocks, bricks, and paving stones from several outdoor storage areas and indoor warehouses. Every pallet requires clear labeling with product code, batch number, and location for proper tracking.

Workers previously used paint markers and adhesive labels on shrink wrap or directly on the concrete. On rough, dusty pallets, handwritten information would fade or smear, labels would detach, and barcodes were often unreadable. About 180 pallets per day were marked by hand, resulting in significant labor hours and frequent identification mistakes.

Incorrectly labeled pallets led to picking errors and time-consuming searches in the yard, with an average of 6 pallets per day needing to be reworked or re-shipped. This resulted in extra handling, additional forklift use, and sometimes urgent transport to meet tight schedules.

Manual Process

Before the GT-100E was introduced, the team depended on paint markers for simple text and pre-printed labels for barcodes when possible. The process changed depending on who was working and the weather, and there was no consistent way to guarantee codes were readable or barcodes could be scanned.

Before Automation:

• Daily quantity: 180 pallets per day
• Time per pallet: 2 minutes (writing product code, batch, and applying or attempting a label)
• Total time per day: 180 × 2 = 360 minutes (6.0 hours per day)
• Labor expense: 6.0 hours × €25/hour = €150 per day
• Rework/issues: 6 pallets per day requiring relabeling and extra handling (about 1.5 hours per day of forklift/yard time, partially included above)

When it was wet or cold, paint would dry slowly and labels would fail more often, increasing the need for rework. Barcodes were often omitted because printed labels would not stick reliably to rough concrete, limiting any automation in warehouse management.

Automated Solution

The company adopted the GT-100E Handheld Thermal Inkjet Printer to take the place of paint markers and most adhesive labels. The printer was set up with templates approved by the warehouse, including product code, batch, date, and a GS1 barcode that could be scanned at shipping and receiving.

Operators now carry the GT-100E along their route, quickly choosing the right message on the 5-inch touchscreen and printing high-contrast, scannable codes directly onto stretch film or onto a primed patch on rough blocks. The printer is used both by hand in outdoor areas and mounted on a small stand near indoor lines.

After Installing GT-100E Handheld Thermal Inkjet Printer:

• The machine runs at 60% of its maximum output for consistent results
• New time per pallet: 0.8 minutes per pallet (select template, position, and print barcode/text in one step)
• Total time per day: 180 × 0.8 = 144 minutes (2.4 hours per day)
• Labor expense: 2.4 hours × €25/hour = €60 per day
• Quality gains: mislabeling and rework dropped from 6 pallets per day to 1 or fewer pallets per day due to durable, scannable barcodes

Ink usage is monitored with RFID cartridges, so planners can schedule cartridge changes and prevent unexpected downtime. Standardized printing also made it easier to train staff across different shifts and locations.

ROI Calculation

Investment:
Machine cost: €699
Daily labor savings: Before €150 per day − After €60 per day = €90 per day
Conservative ROI estimate (labor only, not counting rework or transport savings): €50 per day
Monthly savings (22 workdays): €50 per day × 22 = €1,100 per month
Payback time: €699 ÷ €1,100 per month ≈ 0.64 months (less than 3 weeks)

Even when only 60% of labor savings are counted to allow for breaks and non-labeling tasks, the GT-100E pays for itself in well under a month. When factoring in reduced rework, fewer urgent shipments, and better forklift utilization, the total financial benefit is even greater than the conservative estimate above.

Conclusion

Switching from paint markers and unreliable stickers to the GT-100E Handheld Thermal Inkjet Printer allowed the construction materials supplier to standardize pallet identification throughout their outdoor storage areas and warehouses. The time needed to mark each pallet was reduced by 60%, and the amount of rework due to labeling errors dropped by roughly 90%.

This initiative resulted in a rapid return on investment and enabled both operators and forklifts to focus on productive tasks instead of searching for and re-labeling pallets. The capability to print crisp, scannable barcodes on uneven and wrapped surfaces also improved inventory accuracy and boosted customer delivery performance.

“With the GT-100E, we reduced our pallet marking time from about 6 hours to just 2.4 hours per day and nearly eliminated barcode issues in the yard. Saving approximately fifty euros in labor costs every day meant the printer paid for itself in less than a month, and our dispatch team now has complete confidence in the pallet IDs.” — Markus Huber, Operations Manager, Steiermark Baustoffe GmbH / Graz, Austria