UPS, HP Develop Paperless Shipping Labels
by Jennifer Berry
Published on November 17th, 2008
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UPS recently announced it is deploying a new combination scanner and paperless printing device from Hewlett-Packard that will print millions of sorting labels directly on packages.
“The new HP handheld device means increased efficiency and effectiveness at a lower cost, with less waste,” said Dave Barnes, senior vice president and CIO of UPS. Barnes also noted that the new device should reduce “the rate of mislabeled packages to virtually zero.”
The new device is expected to save UPS capital costs, in addition to costs for paper and ink. Millions of dollars and 1,338 tons of paper will be saved annually once the printer is fully deployed.
As a package enters a UPS center for sorting, a UPS employee uses the device to scan the shipping label. The device obtains the proper sorting information from a UPS database via a WiFi network inside the facility, then prints those instructions directly onto the package using a specially formulated, fast-drying HP ink.
UPS expects to deploy a total of 850 imprinters in 55 centers by the end of this year, processing 1.5 million packages per business day by mid-2009 and increasing that to 3.1 million by 2010.
