Monday, December 31, 2012

10 Rules for Proper Price Gun Maintenance, Use, and Service

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Many business owners and managers have requested a worksheet with best practices for servicing, using and maintaining a price marking gun.  Here are the 10 steps or rules to remember.  I have set them to the acronym "MY PRICE GUN"

1. MARK ON A CLEAN/DRY SURFACE - Labels generally will not stick to surfaces that are dusty, wet, or frozen (covered in frost)  Some adhesives are made for complex surfaces (example: our tire adhesive) such as rubber to which many adhesives will not cling.
2. YIELD TO A JAM - If while using, the trigger locks or jams, DO NOT FORCE IT! there's a reason for the hangup.  If you are not familiar with the problem, call for help.  Many jams can be dealt with very easily.
3. PLACE IT DON'T TOSS IT - Tossing the gun when finished can break the dial shaft, knob, or any other extended part.
4. REPLACE INK ROLLERS - Ink rollers dry out and become flaky this causes the print band pads to become bloated from the fibers of the ink roller. Using dry ink rollers, even for a short period of time, can lead to scrapping the gun, because print head replacement is too expensive.  The ink roller should be replaced every 15000-20000 impressions or every 3 months.  In dry climates (arrid or desert), you may need to replace ink rollers more frequently, depending on your storage method.
5. INSPECT YOUR CONSUMABLES - Many problems are not related to the pricing gun, but to the labels that are in it.  Problems can include:
  • Incompatible Labels
  • Defective Labels
  • End of a Roll of Labels
  • Old Labels (The average shelf life of labels is 2-3 years)  Some companies distribute labels made overseas and purchased in bulk the labels sit in a warehouse for several years before they are sold.
6. CLEAN YOUR GUN - Labels stuck inside or outside the gun should be removed at the earliest opportunity.  The longer a jammed or stuck label (even if it doesn't seem to effect use) stays on your gun or gun part, the harder it will be to remove in the future.
7. ENGAGE THE DIAL SHAFT - The price gun is meant to be operated with the dial shaft pushed all the way back in.  Some price guns will actually not apply a price or advance a label if the dial shaft is out even a little bit.  Putting the dial shaft in the proper position will prevent the dial shaft from breaking when it strikes a surface as you're applying the label, or if the gun is accidentally dropped.
8. GRIP FIRMLY NOT HARD - Moving parts can break if you squeeze the trigger too hard. Most price guns are made for a firm grip, but gentle squeeze, this prevents fatigue to the user from using the pricing gun, and protects the moving parts from abrasion.
9. USE THE LANYARD - A very large percent of all pricing guns that come in for repairs have been dropped (sometimes multiple times).  Wrap the lanyard around your wrist before using it, and you will prevent the headache of finding out that your dropped price gun is not covered by warranty.
10. NEVER RE-INK - Most ink rollers are intended for single use. When reused they become grooved, wear out, or dry up and cause all kinds of problems.  Spend the few dollars on ink rollers, it will increase the life span of your print head.

For More Information Visit:

Care Instruction for Price Guns
Loading and Use Instructions

2 comments:

You are right about yielding to a jam. This is usually an indication that all is not well. Forcing it will usually just make the situation a lot worse. Better to stop and investigate.

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