How to Choose Your Pricing Gun

With so many different labellers to choose from, it's helpful to lay out your expectations about your usage to find a perfect match. At Clipper-Retail we offer an extensive range of price guns and labels to cater to the needs of every retailer. With so much choice, choosing can be challenging. Before making a decision, guide your choice by asking yourself the following questions:

1. What kind of information will you display on your labels?
2. In what work environment will your pricing gun be used?
3. What changes may occur in your business in the near future?
4. What is your budget?

So, let's break it down:

1. INFORMATION DISPLAY

To get the most out of your labelling guns, it is important for you to consider what information you wish to print on your labels. The most commonly used pricing guns are one-line and two-line pricing guns. A one-line pricing gun will allow you to print a single line of information, whereas a two-line pricing gun will allow you to print two lines.

Labelling guns can be used to print the following information onto your labels:

• Prices
• Dates
• Product codes
• Batch numbers
• Currency symbols
• Promotional text
• Food safety warnings

Depending on the character set-up of your pricing gun, printing options are not limited to what is listed above. You can be creative! How creative will depend on the character limit and type of your pricing gun.

You will come across numeric pricing guns which will only allow for numbers and currency symbols to be printed, and alphanumeric labellers which allow letter printing as well as numeric printing. However, some two-line pricing guns are configured to have one line as numeric and the other line of information as alphanumeric.

Each labeller has a set number of characters which will allow for printing prices up to a certain amount. For example, the Lynx C-6 One-Line Price Gun with 6 Numeric Bands will allow pricing up to £99999 or £99.99 when using a decimal (note: this labeller is also loaded with the € symbol). If the character limit matches your prices (and your budget), then this may be a suitable pricing gun for you. You can be creative with this labeller to get the most out of your price gun- the character limit will also allow for printing dates and product codes in numeric configuration.

If you're looking to display food safety warnings, promotional text, dates which include the month, or product/batch numbers made up of letters and numbers, you will definitely require a price gun with alphanumeric characters – known for their printing versatility.

2. Labelling Work Environment 

When considering the work environment in which you will be using your price gun there are a few things to consider:

• Physical work environment: Where will your pricing gun be used?
• Frequency of use: How often will you be using your pricing gun?

It's important to consider your physical work environment when choosing your pricing gun. For example, if the area in which you're labelling has tile or concrete flooring, there is a risk of your labeller being dropped and damaged. In this case, a robust and durable pricing gun with an ergonomic design would prove to be more suitable for use in such an environment to reduce the risk of it being dropped, which also demonstrates to be a more cost-effective purchase in the long run. If you are pricing in an area with carpeted flooring, a hard-wearing pricing gun may not be one of your requirements and a mid or economy pricing gun will be suitable.

The frequency of use of your pricing gun is an especially important factor in making the right choice for your business. If your business labels products daily at a high volume, you will likely require a pricing gun with quick action to keep up with the pace of your business. Simultaneously you will require a pricing gun that reliably prints clearly and accurately to ensure your fast usage does not impact on the presentation of your labels. In fast-paced environments with large quantities of products to label it's important for pricing guns to feel comfortable in hand to avoid negative impact on the users and allow for flexible operation. In calmer work environments with fewer products to label, quick action and an ergonomic design may not be essential because the labelling gun will not be used as frequently. For these retailers, a mid-economy range pricing gun will suffice.

3. Business Development

When considering the information you wish to display, it is a good idea to have an overview of your overall market and your business development prospects.

If you're a retailer based in the UK operating nationally, you will require a Pound Sterling currency symbol set-up in your pricing gun only. If you are UK based but trade within Europe or internationally, you may require a more varied set of pricing symbols to ensure you can label your products in sync with your market. Thus, if market expansion is on the cards it is a 100% more cost-effective to prepare in advance.

So in terms of your business development prospects, it's good to think ahead. What are you currently selling? Are you branching out soon? You know best which products need labelling and what their requirements are, but with the ever-expanding retail environment you may soon be selling products that require more or different characters per line on your pricing gun. Here are a few examples:

• If your business will soon sell higher-end products, you will require a pricing gun with more characters to display greater prices.
• If you will be expanding to food and beverages you will require a pricing gun that will allow printing 'use by' and 'best before' dates
• If your business experiences sale periods or promotional product offers, a pricing gun that will allow printing 'reduced' prices and promotional offers will be most suitable.

In short: Think about where you are, where you're going, and where you want to be as a business.

4. Your Budget

For some businesses budget may not be a factor when purchasing pricing guns- as long as the labellers print the information required. For others, this very much plays a role in choosing the right pricing gun. Our mid-economy range of pricing guns are also manufactured by the UK market leading brand Lynx, so high quality is still guaranteed. The major differences between the premium range and the mid and economy ranges concern the pricing guns' durability and design, which as explained above is a choice depending on your work environment.

Bespoke Solutions

Our assortment of pricing guns and labels can all be made to order according to your business requirements. If you have seen a pricing gun you like but require a different set-up, or even a three-line price gun, we'll custom make them for you. Visit our "Contact Us" page and let's talk shop today.