Still handwriting cassettes or slides and thinking it may be time to automate your printing and invest in printers? Hesitant to purchase due to budget constraints or time needed to transition and train your team? Don’t let this stop you! There are options available to make the transition as seamless and trouble-free as possible. And the benefits to your patients and staff are worth it.

 First let’s look at the pitfalls of hand labeling

Significant time to write and match up the correct cassettes and slides

Smudged or messy handwriting can be difficult to decipher, leading to additional time and additional risk of confusion

Errors in writing due to transcription errors are a real risk

Pencil or ink can wash off during processing due to harsh chemicals used

What are the benefits of using an automated cassette or slide printer?

Increased patient safety. Automation and direct connection to an LIS if needed increase the accuracy and helps to reduce errors in mislabeling and sample identification.

A study done by Henry Ford Hospital showed that by using automated cassette or slide printers with On-Demand printing, labeling errors were significantly reduced. (1)

Efficiency. We know that lab staff are busy and sometimes overworked. Vacancy and retirement rates have increased over the last few years, and staff are pressed to do more with less time. (2)

Reduces time required for labeling cassettes and slides

Eliminates interruptions in workflow or the labeling process

Minimizes errors which can leading to costly time to rework

Improved visibility to data. Data in the lab is valuable and often needed for chain of custody tracking. Easy access to this information can help reduce the reporting burden.

Management reporting tools for case volumes, tissue types and other necessary metrics

Workload capacity tool

Individual employee workflow/chain of custody with tech initials added to each cassette or slide

What should I look for and ask about?
Here’s a few things to keep in mind when assessing a slide or cassette printer, and questions to ask when considering the right fit for your lab. Look for a printer that is fast and easy to use, that can not only be easily integrated into your lab processes, but will also improve workflow and efficiency. If purchasing both cassette and slide printers, look for connectivity between all printers.

A small footprint that can fit at any accessioning, grossing or microtomy station to support on-demand printing. Walk through your lab and assess available space to get a better understanding of how much benchtop space is available. Batch printing carries risk; even if your lab isn’t printing on-demand right now, a wise strategy is ensuring the printer you’re acquiring has the ability to do both, allowing you the option to move to on-demand printing in the future

Be sure to ask: What are the dimensions of the printer? Is it designed for on-demand, batch printing, or both?

Multiple hoppers that are easy to remove and install, especially if your lab utilizes multiple cassette or slide types and colors.

Be sure to ask: How many hoppers are available? Can additional hoppers be purchased separately and stored with alternate types of cassettes ready to go? Can you print one cassette or slide of a different type or color without having to change out a hopper? Can slides or cassettes be loaded during printing, or does the printer need to be stopped and/or opened?

High print quality and excellent scannability. A high-contrast print provides the best scannability, and there are many factors that impact print quality.

Be sure to ask: What was the scan rate of the printer during product testing? (This information should be readily accessible by vendors.) What cassettes are validated on the printer? What colors and types are available? If you’re looking at a thermal transfer cassette printer, ask what precautions are taken to ensure the print doesn’t melt during paraffin trimming. If you’re assessing a laser printer, ask (and test) how durable the laser print is when used with decalcifiers. Decalcifiers can remove laser printing (but not thermal prints), and the quality of the cassettes used is an important factor.

Flexible and supported connectivity. A printer should have the ability to be used with or without an LIS connection, depending on your lab setup. Most printers on the market today have the ability to connect to various LIS systems, but there’s a variety of ways that printers can be used and connected in the lab, and the level of difficulty in connection varies by printer.

Be sure to ask: How easily do they connect to an LIS system? Ask whether your specific LIS is proven to quickly integrate with the printer you’re looking at acquiring. Is middleware required for LIS connectivity? Is a separate computer/workstation required for each printer? Will the vendor provide support to work with your LIS company and IT team to integrate? What options are available if you don’t use an LIS? Can barcode scanning still be utilized without connecting to an LIS?

Fast printing. You don’t want to be waiting for cassettes or slides to print.

Be sure to ask: How many seconds does each cassette or slide take to print? How quickly will the first cassette in a case be available?

Maintenance, service and support. Look for a supported printer with little maintenance. 

Be sure to ask: Is there a service agreement available? How much is it? What’s included? How fast is service performed? What’s included in the manufacturer warranty? What ongoing maintenance is needed for the printer? How much support will be provided to help install and integrate the printer?

Ease of label template design with a high character count that meets your needs. Making updates to templates doesn’t happen frequently, but when needed, ensure you have easy access, and that the templates accommodate the information you need on the face of the cassettes.

Be sure to ask: What is the maximum character count? (ensure that it is enough to meet your needs) Is a separate computer or screen required for each cassette printer? What happens when a change is needed? Do you need vendor support or are changes easy to make?

Workflow management capabilities. Printers can gather important data to track chain of custody.

Be sure to ask: What tracking is available?

Low total cost of ownership. Calculate the total of any consumables (ribbon, filters, cassettes), annual service, and the cost of the printer, and divide by the expected lifetime of the printer—typically 5-7 years. You might be surprised at the difference between various vendors and printer types. We’ve found that thermal transfer printers provide the best value over the lifetime of the instrument, even with the cost of occasional ribbon changes.

Be sure to ask: What ancillary equipment is available or needed? This could include ribbon, hopper, hopper rack, or cassette collection tray.

(1) Zarbo, R.J. et al. (2009) The henry ford production system: Reduction of surgical pathology in-process misidentification defects by bar code–Specified work process standardization, OUP Academic.  Available at: https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/ 

(2) https://www.nsh.org/about/advocacy/histotech-workforce-shortages