Zebra Patient ID Wristbands

Patient identification is an important issue in the healthcare industry. Patient wristbands are the easiest way to identify patients in hospitals and other healthcare settings. These bands can have different codes and information about the patient’s age, sex and day of admission to the hospital. In the field of printed hospital wristbands, Zebra has a wide range of printers to produce wristbands suitable for all types of patients, from infants to adults.

When choosing which Zebra printer to use to print patient wristbands, there are many things to consider. Will a variety of different sizes and colors of bracelets be used? Will the printed wristbands be exposed to heat or direct sunlight? Will the wristbands be used for short-term or long-term patient stays? Will wristbands need to have extremely small text or barcodes?

If the wristbands will be used for long-term patient care, then it is better to choose a thermal transfer printer over a direct thermal printer because the printed image lasts longer. Thermal transfer printing is done by heating a carbon ribbon that applies an image to the wristband. Direct thermal printers simply heat the wristband creating a darkened image.

Direct thermal printers can be used in situations such as outpatient clinics where patients will not need to be identified beyond the few hours they are in the clinic. Bands printed using direct thermal technology will not last long in direct sunlight or heat as the material is very sensitive to heat and will darken making the printed image unreadable.

If wristbands in many different sizes and colors are needed, Zebra’s HC100 provides the ability to quickly transition from one color to another or one size to another. The HC100 prints wristbands from pre-filled cartridges that are easily loaded and ejected similar to how bread fits into a toaster.

If small compact text or barcodes are to be used on the wristbands, print quality is an important factor. Because printing with a ribbon results in a clearer, more readable image, a thermal transfer printer with high DPI (dots per inch) capability should be used for small text and barcodes.

Zebra thermal wristbands come in a variety of sizes and colors and can have adhesive or secure clips to close the wristband. Zebra also provides wristbands with protective antimicrobial coatings to help reduce the risk of disease or infection transmission from one patient to another. Zebra patient wristbands also have far superior resistance to hand sanitizers, a product widely used in hospitals and clinics.

With all the varieties of Zebra wristband printers and labels available, every healthcare facility will be able to find a Zebra wristband solution to fit their individual patient identification needs.