Overview
Save time and money by printing your own labels! The Brother TD-4000 is perfect for short and medium runs of food product labels with black-and-white printing with good detail and fine print. The 300dpi capability is for printing the small fonts required for small product labels. The Brother TD-4000 is perfect for labeling food products in black-and-white with good detail and fine print.
The TD-4000 has a sleek and compact design and supports a variety of applications and industries.
The TD-4000 includes a label cutter, an outstanding value and feature in this price range, which creates labels of any length cut from continuous rolls of label stock.
The TD-4000 is for direct-thermal printing only (not thermal transfer), so it is not really meant for labels that will be exposed to heat, extended periods of direct sunlight or for products with long shelf life. (This is characteristic of all direct-thermal labels because they are sensitve to heat and age and eventually gray or yellow. Their advantage is that they are extremely economical.)
Many applications: In addition to food label printing, the TD-4000 integrates easily into a variety of printing applications, including shipping and receiving, warehouse shelf labeling and inventory control. Serial and USB interfaces, and an optional Ethernet make this flexible, reliable and affordable printer a smart investment.
Connecting via USB, it works with Windows 95 to Vista. (Sorry, does not work with Apple Macs.) Use the included label design software or Photoshop®, Illustrator® or similar.
Printing your own labels with the Brother TD-4000 rather than using a printing service, there are:
- No lead times
- No minimum order requirements
- No obsolete label inventory
- No plate and die charges
Flexibility in Label Sizes with Built-In Label Cutter
The built-in auto cutter allows labels and receipts of various lengths to be printed from continuous label or paper rolls. This allows you to make the maximum variety of label sizes with a minimal variety of label stock. Genuine Brother media is available through FoodSoftware.com:
- Genuine Brother RD Roll die-cut and continuous media gives the highest quality output for your labels, receipts and tags.
- Genuine Brother RD Roll media is designed to maximize the life and performance of the TD-4000.
- Genuine Brother RD Roll media has been tested and approved to provide the best results in term of media reliability, performance, contrast and longevity.
Click here for the Brother Desktop Printer Food Label Catalog
Software Included with the Brother TD-4000
Brother P-touch Edit label design software is a powerful software application for designing and printing customized, on-demand labels, receipts and tags. It can also be used to connect to and print from text and .csv files, Excel spreadsheets, and Microsoft Access and SQL Server databases.
General Thermal Label Printer Information
This is a direct thermal transfer printer. Instead of ink, it uses heat to print by the direct thermal transfer method. The advantages of thermal transfer over inkjet technology is that the labels are more water-resistant or waterproof, more durable and less expensive. Thermal direct printers are the type most commonly used to produce black-and-white food labels. Short runs of food labels (a few hundred to a few thousand per day) are usually made with thermal transfer printers. A typical food label made this way has a total cost of about a cent.
Thermal transfer label printers come in two main sizes and duty levels. Smaller, "desktop" printers print up to four inches wide and are suitable for printing a few hundred labels a day. Larger "industrial" printers print up to eight inches wide, accept larger label rolls, and easily print a few thousand labels a day. (Note that labels can be printed on their sides so the printer width can be used as the height instead.)
Two print resolutions are typically available- either 203dpi (dots per inch) or 300. 203dpi is the same resolution as most faxes and is best suited for standard or larger fonts. 300dpi, available on better printers, prints small fonts very well and may be required to properly print small food labels so that the smallest text on them is readable.
Label printers are loaded with label rolls of a few hundred to a few thousand labels per roll, depending on the label size. Continuous rolls are also available so labels can be individually cut to length or made unusually long with the automatic cutter separating the labels. Automatic cutters are usually optional extras. (It is a standard feature on the TD-4000.)
The thermal transfer method heats a ribbon which causes pigment (usually black) to transfer from the ribbon to mark the media (labels). Ribbons are available in a limited variety of colors so the printer can transfer the color of the ribbon, but usually do not mix colors to produce the full spectrum of colors as do inkjets. One ribbon is usually sufficient for one or two rolls of labels. Ribbons are available in various widths and should be at least as wide as the labels being printed. (The Brother TD-4000 does not provide the thermal transfer method.)
The widest variety of substrates (labels) are available for use with thermal transfer because the substrates do not need the special coating required for thermal direct printing and thermal ribbons can mark a wide variety of materials. Most dry food labels are printed on high gloss paper because it is scratch-resistant and looks good. Semi-gloss paper is less expensive but does not look as nice as high gloss, but it is more readable when glare is a problem. Plastic substrates are the most durable of all and are best to use for cold, moisture and heat.
The thermal direct method (used by the Brother TD-4000) heats specially coated media directly so the media itself is marked by the heat without the use of a ribbon. Thermal direct printing is the least expensive technology because no ribbon is required. Its disadvantage is that thermal direct media remains heat-sensitive, so labels quickly turn dark if exposed to heat or prolonged sunlight and become gray in normal conditions in a few weeks. The variety of sizes of substrates (labels) is more limited because of the special coating they require to work. Thermal direct labels are the best to use with dry, cool food products which will never be on the shelf more than a few days.
Software: Most label printers include basic control software for composing complete food labels with product names, logos, bar codes and nutrition data (such as nutraCoster provides). The included software can usually be upgraded for a fee to more robust versions that can perform advanced functions such as individualizing labels (with lot numbers, weights, etc.) by interfacing with databases.
Labels and Ribbons
The Brother TD-4000 printer is typically used with a continuous 4"-wide label roll. The auto cutter cuts the roll to any length required. Labels can be printed sideways so that width becomes length (but one dimension will always be the width of the roll). A limited variety of precut label sizes are also available: 4" x 6", 4" x 2", 3" x 1", 2" x 1". The Brother TD-4000 does not use ribbons.
Click here for the Brother Desktop Printer Food Label Catalog
Specifications
Standard Features
- Print methods: Direct thermal
- Built-in auto cutter
- Print speed: up to 4.3" (110 mm) per second
- High-quality, 300 dpi resolution is great for printing fine text,
graphics, barcodes, and logos.
- Small size: TD-4000 and TD-4100N desktop barcode and label printers
measure 6.8" (W) x 9.0" (D) x 6.2" (H), and are perfect for
desktops and counters where space is at a premium.
- Brother P-touch label design software.
- USB and serial interfaces are standard for optimized Windows printing. Compatible with Windows 7.
- Five resident fonts and 14 linear and two-dimensional
barcode symbologies.
- Print from non-Windows applications via the USB, serial and
Ethernet interfaces using ESC/P emulation or ASCII data.
- Print from stand-alone devices and handheld terminals and
scanners via the serial port.
Printer Specifications
- Maximum Media Width: 4.16" (105.6 mm)
- Maximum Printing Speed: 4.3 ips (110 mm/sec)
- Maximum Print Resolution: 300 x 300 dpi (12 x 12 dots/mm)
- Printing Method: Direct Thermal
- Cutter: Automatic (Built-in)
- Media Sensor & Position: Fixed transmissive, edge.
- Media Types: Drop-in Roll or Fanfold (rear slot), Continuous Label or Paper, Die Cut Labels, Tag Stock.
- Maximum Roll Size (outside diameter): 4" (101.6 mm)
- Resident Fonts: Helsinki, Brussels, Letter Gothic, San Diego, Brougham
- Resident Barcodes: Linear: Code39, ITF (I-2/5), UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN8, EAN13, Codabar (NW-7), Code128, UCC/EAN128, GS1 DataBar (RSS)
2-Dimensional: PDF417, QR Code, Data Matrix, Maxicode
- Software (included on CD-ROM): P-touch® PT-Editor 5.0, Transfer Manager 2.1,
Transfer Express, Library 2.1
- Database file compatibility: *.csv, *.txt, *.mdb, *.xls and Microsoft SQL Server
- Interface: USB (1.1 or 2.0), Serial (RS-232C)
- Operating System: Windows® 2000 Professional/XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows 8
- Carton Contents: Printer, Power Cord, USB Cable, CD, RD Starter Roll - Continuous Length Label (2m or 6.56 ft.), RD Starter Roll - 2" x 1" Labels (60 labels), User Guide
- Power Supply: 120VAC 60 Hz 1.8A
- EngergyStar: Yes
- Warranty: 1 Year Limited Warranty
Physical Characteristics
- Width: 6.8"
- Height: 6.2"
- Depth: 9"
- Shipping Weight: 7 lbs.
Requirements
- Operating System: Windows® 2000 Professional/XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows 8
- Interface: USB (1.1 or 2.0), Serial (RS-232C)
- Power Source: 120VAC 60 Hz
- MAC USERS PLEASE NOTE: This printer is not for use with Apple products. No drivers or software are available for the Mac for this printer.
Service
- Warranty: One Year Parts and Labor
- Free factory phone support
Policies
Returnable within 20 days of delivery. Refunds are less shipping, 15% restocking fee and charge card merchant fees (if applied).
Related Products
FoodSoftware carries monochrome thermal and color inkjet food label printers, rewinders, applicators and dispensers:
|
