So you’ve got a situation on your hands. You’ve been handwriting labels for years, but now you notice productivity isn’t where it should be. You’re paying employees for more labor hours, but see even less output since there are so many mistakes.
Handwriting Labels–Worth It?
Statistics show that 1 out of every 300 handwritten characters will be wrong. Now imagine writing hundreds of thousands of characters a day on hundreds of labels… Not only will you be paying for the labor to write those characters, but also for the labor to find and fix the inevitable mistakes.
So, why don’t we put those numbers into dollars?
| Hrs/Week | $15,080/yr $7.25/hr | $25,000/yr $12/hr | $50,000/yr $24/hr | $100,000/yr $48/hr |
| 1hr/week 52 hrs/year | $377 | $624 | $1,248 | $2,496 |
| 2hr/week 104 hrs/year | $754 | $1,248 | $2,496 | $4,992 |
| 3hr/week 156 hrs/year | $1,131 | $1,872 | $3,744 | $7,488 |
| 4hr/week 208hrs/year | $1,508 | $2,496 | $4,992 | $9,984 |
| 5hr/week 260hrs/year | $1,885 | $3,120 | $6,240 | $12,480 |
Ouch.
Depending on your employees’ salaries, you could be paying as much as $12,480 in direct labor to fix labeling mistakes! Imagine all the savings that could occur if you switched over to a printed barcode label system, which usually pays for itself within a year thanks to the increase in productivity and the decrease in direct labor.
The Best Alternative
Not only does barcoding reduce the number of mistakes made (almost to zero), it also takes less time to read the label. When it comes to handwriting, not everyone has the neatest, most legible writing–which can be a problem when multiple people are handling specimens. If you can’t read the label, more time is invested trying to decipher what the label says.
Not to mention how much time can be saved when you switch to printed labels! Most software accompanying data management systems have you simply scan the barcode (which takes about 2 seconds) and presto, the information is in your database!
Ready to Kiss Handwriting Labels Goodbye? We’ve Got You Covered!
If you are looking to have your barcode labels printed for you, EIM can provide them in sequential order or from a file from your database. They can be customized with color-coding and/or supplied in multi-part sets to link your samples with associated paperwork using duplicate numbers. Your labels can also be specially sized to fit your specimen requirements. (And that is just the tip of the iceberg!)
If you prefer to print your own labels, we can set you up with a compact desktop printer, labeling software and templates so you can print your own labels right onsite. Simply choose from popular label sizes and materials made specifically for tough laboratory conditions. You won’t even have to leave your lab! Rather than print whole sheets of labels, you can print the exact amount of labels you need for each test. This is especially useful if you print only a few labels a day rather than large quantities.
To learn more about printing barcode labels, contact The Label Experts to start implementing your printed labeling system.
