Whether you run a farm shop, supermarket, deli, butchers or Zero Waste / Bring your Own Container shop, we have a number of different scales to suit. To help choose the most suitable label/receipt print scale for your business we recommend you consider the following factors:

1 - What type of customer-facing display do you require?

While all TecStore's label & receipt printing scales for retail trade use have a mandatory rear customer-facing display, the size, form and position of the rear display screen varies between the machines.

If you are using the machine for prepack labelling only then the Avery XTi101 is available without a rear customer display, but you can use any of our labelling scales with rear display in prepack mode.

Integrated or Pole Mounted
Across the different scale models, the customer-facing display can either be integrated into the base of the scale, or it can be pole mounted. Pole mounted displays being at eye level tend to be easier for the customer to read. Integrated display models are cheaper.

On many of the pole-mounted models, the operator keypad or touchscreen can either be on the base of the machine or can also be pole-mounted, allowing the operator to maintain eye contact with the customer.

Fixed or Tilting
The angle of the display can either fixed or tiltable slightly up and down on the different models. On The Avery XTi200 an optional swivel bracket allows the rear customer display to be set facing left or right 90 degrees.

Customer Display Content & Size
On the basic printing scales, like the CAS CN1 and Dibal W-015, they have a small character display which can show the product name, price per kg/unit, weight and calculated price.

On the Avery XS series the customer-facing display is larger so you can use a larger font size and also incorporate your logo or other sales messages.

On the more advanced touchscreen scales, they can have larger graphical customer-facing displays from 7" - 10" size which can display advertisements and promotional graphics and videos in addition to the transaction data.

2 - How many different products do you have?

If you don't intend to program your products/prices and just use the scale for manual price entry eact time, then product capacity is not an issue. You can choose a basic scale such as the CAS CN1, Dibal W-015 or any of the Avery XS series scales. But if you intend to store all your products/prices on the scale for more efficient use, as most users do, then you will first need to consider your required product capacity.

On all our labelling and receipt printing scales, you can process both weighed items with their Price per Kg, as well as fixed items with their Unit Price (eg. cucumber, lemon, pack of beef burgers etc). Where you choose a scale with cash register features, you may also scan barcodes of your retail products such as on supermarket items like bottles, can, jars and packs.

Memory Capacity
Nearly of all our labelling and receipt printing scales have a memory capacity to store over 1000 products, with some supporting over 10,000 products. On some machines the capacity may be reduced depending on how much data you store for each product.

Keypad Size on scales with physical keypad
On the scales with keypad you will be limited by the number of preset keys to rapidly select your most popular products. For example, the entry level CAS CN1 has 72 preset keys. The Avery XS range have 58 hot keys. Products beyond the maximum preset keys are usually accessed by entering the PLU code of the product. eg. 73 for Red Onions, 74 for Shallots etc. and you would thus require some manual referencing method for the scale operator to look up the codes, although some of our scales do provide a Search feature.

Although some keypad scales allow 1 or more shift levels to allow multiple products to be stored on the same preset key, this is usually not practical as you may not be able to fit the descriptions onto each key.

TouchScreen Scales
Touchscreen scales provide greater flexibility and capacity as you can have any number of products, and they can be structured in more user-friendly screens.

The buttons can be sized as required, colour-coded as required and can include a text name and/or a graphical product image/logo too. If you have a small number of weighed products, then product buttons can be programmed on a single screen layout. If you have more products, then a number of different screens can be set up. eg. Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Pork, Seasonings etc. to accommodate all of your products.

3 - What details do you want on the printed label / receipt?

The basic scales will simply allow printing of the Product Name, Weight/Qty, Price, Date(s) and Barcode as well as your store name / address / telephone.

Depending on the size of label / receipt stationery you choose and the scale's capability, you may also print ingredients/allergy information, storage instructions, logo/graphics, traceability information, nutritional data and other such details.

Where your requirement is to print ingredients/allergens, storage/handling instructions and other such details, you should check that your intended scale has sufficient capacity in the relevant data fields to store/print all your product data. For example, the CAS CN1 only allows 510 characters in the Ingredients field which would include spaces and punctuation. If you wish to highlight allergens then check the text formatting capability of your intended scale - basic scales don't allow Bolding or Inversing of particular words within a text field, whereas the mid-range and high-end labelling scales provide greater control over your desired text format and a wider selection of fonts.

Also see:
UK Govt Food Labelling Guidelines

All TecStore's label and receipt printing scales can print price-embedded Barcodes for use with EPOS till software that supports such barcodes. So at the till, you scan the barcode and it will identify the Product Name and take the price (or weight/qty) from the barcode on a product label or the transaction total on a receipt.

The advanced scales can be set to print Sales Receipts (on thermal paper rolls) instead of product price labels. You can switch between label printing and receipt printing by changing the mode on the machine and swapping the roll/cassette. Sales receipts have multiple items on the same ticket with the overall total. If the scale has POS cash register functions, then you can also register payment on the receipt.

The Avery XTi420 and many models on the Bizerba KH, XC and K3 range have both a label printer and a receipt printer. For example, you can use the label printer to print price labels for pre-packed items, and use the receipt printer for live sales transactions. The Bizerba dual-printer machines also support printing of both receipts and labels (fixed size cut labels or variable length on linerless rolls) without having to manually replace a roll each time.

4 - How often will you change prices and product information?

All our scales allow you to quickly update the price per kg or unit price of your products quickly and easily, either directly on the scale or using the optional PC software.

PC software is advisable where you have a large number of products and prices / details change often, as it allows you to make the changes faster on a full-size screen and keyboard. On the advanced labelling scales from Avery Berkel and Bizerba we can provide an app that allows remote management of your scale(s).

If you add new products or change product names, then on scales with a physical keypad you will need to update and re-print the keyboard template. For this reason, if you do add new products often then we recommend using a touchscreen scale as the screens can be set to dynamically update and you dont need to re-design and re-print template sheets.

5 - Weighing Capacity

Most of our label & receipt printing scales are available in 15kg capacity as they are designed for retail shop use. Some models are optionally available in 6kg capacity where greater precision is required such as for sweets, loose tea or spices. Some Avery Berkel models can be special ordered for 25kg capacity.

6 - Purpose, Ease and Speed of Use

If the scale is for Self Service by the customer then we recommend the Avery XTi300. This has a large 18.5" touchscreen making it user-friendly and easy to use.

If you have a small number of products which can be programmed onto the preset keys, or you intend to simply enter the price manually each time, then any of the entry-level scales with physical keyboard would be suitable such as the CAS CN1, Dibal W-015, Bizerba SC II or the Avery XS100 / XS200 / XS400.

If you have a large number of products to choose from, in a busy retail sales environment, or your product list changes often, then a touchscreen scale will allow for efficient operator usage such as the Avery XTi series, the Bizerba KH, K Series, XC series and Q1 or the Digi RM5800.

If you operate a Zero Waste / Bring Your Own Container type of business, then we recommend the Avery XTi100 / 101, XTi200, XTi300, XTi400 or XTi420 which allows for empty containers to be weighed and a barcode label printed for subsequent weighing of the filled container. The containers can be preset store sizes or the customer can weigh their own container which will be tared from the pricing calculation.

For fishmongers and other businesses with wet areas, we recommend the Avery XTs500 and the Bizerba hanging touchscreen scales.

7 - Optional Peripherals & PC Software

The advanced series scales allow a range of peripheral options to be connected:-
* Scoop (Fixed or Freestanding)
* Barcode Scanner (for cash register use & Zero Waste shops)
* Cash Drawer (for cash register use)
* Additional Label Cassettes (to speed up label roll changes)
* Card Payment Terminal (requires compatible merchant account)

PC Software
We recommend always purchasing the PC Software that is available for each of the labelling scales to allow you to customize label content, update product information and prices easily and (where supported) print sales reports. On the colour touchscreen scales, the PC software allows you to design and customize your screen layouts and graphic icons.

Even for simple additions and changes, the PC software tends to be easier and quicker to use than the multiple level menus on the scale. It also provides additional features like label template editing and keyboard template printing or touchscreen layout editing.

You would require a Windows PC (or laptop) that connects to your Router. The scale(s) will connect to the same Router with Cat5 Ethernet cable or (where supported) an optional WiFi adapter. Note: You cannot use an Apple device or Windows emulator - it must be a device with a full size screen (10" and larger recommended) with original Microsoft Windows installed. You may need to disable S mode to install the PC software.

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For additional buying advice to help choose the most suitable trade-approved labelling scale or POS solution for your business please call us on 020 8936 7000 (Intl +44 208 936 7000).

We supply scales with optional services for programming, installation and training. We offer discounts on multiple scales - contact us for a competitive quote.