With the pace of business continuing to accelerate, businesses like yours are in need of a competitive edge. Any digital tool that makes the workday easier on your employees is exactly the type of advantage that modern organisations are poised to leverage on a daily basis.
Mobile applications, for example, are becoming an increasingly popular and effective asset in the workplace – especially for labelling and printing. As two of your critical workflows, we’ll guide you through the ins and outs of mobile apps and how your business can use them to your advantage.
The importance of mobile printing apps
When you talk about mobile printing, you’re really talking about the ability to print from your mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. Now that over 80% of Australians are using such devices – with that number expected to surpass 21.5 million users by 2025, per Statista – nearly all of your employees have mobile printing technology at their fingertips.
You can break mobile printing apps into two categories based on functionality: labelling and print management. Whereas the former facilitates all of your label printing needs, the latter helps you monitor and manage your print environment. In either case, mobile apps are becoming an increasingly necessary part of the business toolbox, and here’s why:
- Remote work: Many industries have responded to world events and adopted hybrid or permanently remote work models. In turn, it’s mission-critical for businesses to equip employees with tools that empower them to perform their best, collaborate over great distances and focus on the tasks at hand
- Convenience: Mobile apps are very easy to use and are an exceptionally convenient complement to your other print solutions
- Productivity: Apps allow businesses to streamline everyday print jobs and labelling tasks with more convenient, palm-of-your-hand solutions. With a simplified print workflow you can save time and dedicate your focus to other critical tasks
- Cost savings: Apps require few – if any – integrations and most employees already have compatible devices. More importantly, they provide everyone added visibility to keep an eye on print usage, reduce wasted materials and replenish supplies before they’ve run out
- Sustainability: Some printing apps double as digitisation tools, meaning you can reduce overall paper consumption and accelerate your sustainability goals. Better yet, you can ensure you’re only printing what’s necessary
- Compliance: Apps support digitisation workflows, which in turn support data retrieval regulations. They also allow you to customise your printed materials – documents and labels alike – to ensure they meet the necessary standards as dictated by your industry
Industry use cases: Label printing apps
Label printing apps, such as Brother’s iPrint&Label or Pro Label Tool, can help streamline everyday labelling needs. They enable you to design and create labels on demand through easy-to-use interfaces, predesigned templates and customisable in-app shortcuts.
Notably, mobile apps can effortlessly connect to compatible label printers and generate a high-quality, durable and cost-efficient image. With just a few quick taps on your screen, you can produce labels of all shapes and sizes, including logos, QR codes, barcodes and name tags – no laptop or computer needed.
Mobile labelling apps are supported by a cloud server full of ready-to-go label designs and templates that are frequently updated over time. Better yet, they support CSV connectivity so that you can quickly print labels directly from your databases, including Microsoft Excel.
Altogether, these functions serve a wide range of industry applications:
- Office use: Apps are great for organising desk supplies and files in a hurry
- Healthcare: Apps help you create prescription labels, patient wristbands and specimen labels that adhere to strict guidelines and reduce risk of noncompliance
- Manufacturing: With a label app, you can print wherever you need to on the production floor – a time-saving asset to productivity
- Logistics: You can easily design and print QR and barcodes to trace assets throughout their lifecycle, or print the necessary labels to warn employees of workplace hazards
Label printing apps are supported by ready-to-go templates that make labelling a breeze.Industry use cases: Print management apps
On the other hand, there are also apps available that help your workforce manage their printing in a more effective and efficient way. Whether working from home or in the office, everyone is empowered to optimise their print environment from their mobile devices.
Through user-friendly on-screen navigation and a rich array of capabilities, printing apps like Brother Mobile Connect can generate efficiencies throughout any modern business in a number of key ways:
- Accountability: If you’re worried about the cost of your print infrastructure, mobile apps afford all employees additional oversight over consumables. This keeps ‘waste’ top-of-mind for your workforce and allows them to cut back on unnecessary print jobs
- Remote collaboration: Printing apps allow you to scan a document and instantly share it to colleagues regardless of your physical location – streamlining productivity and mitigating the gap between one another
- Replenishment: Running out of critical supplies like paper, ink or toner could throw printing for a loop. Mobile apps enable you to keep track of supply levels and replenish your stock from within the same interface, helping you avoid unplanned downtime
- Compliance: Printing apps satisfy the digitisation process and enable every employee to scan at their convenience. In turn, you can expedite the journey to a paperless environment and ensure all critical documents are safe and sound in digital storage
- Troubleshooting: The Brother SupportCenter App provides you a complete knowledge bank of information, manuals and FAQs to ensure you’re using your Brother device to its fullest potential
Mobile apps are a perfect complement to your printing and scanning workflow.Whether you’re printing, labelling or both, mobile applications are a must-have complement to your everyday workflow. At the very least, they make your workday easier, erase inefficiencies and produce cost-saving solutions throughout your business.
Learn more about how we can support printing and labelling in your organisation by reaching out to our team today.
