Printronix Inc., an industrial and printing solutions manufacturer, has announced that its T5000r thermal bar code and SL5000r radio frequency identification (RFID) printers are the only thermal printers to meet the latest 2009 ENERGY STAR (News - Alert) Program Requirements for Imaging Equipment.

Printronix's new ENERGY STAR printers will help companies reach their corporate sustainability initiatives by reducing energy consumption and utility bills.

T5000r combines reliability, utility, power and flexibility for demanding duty cycles and environments, and provides the open migration to RFID for future requirements. The T5000r supports the widest range of connectivity and control without sacrificing performance and provides the ability to meet new application and compliance requirements.

The SL5000r MP2 is the next generation family of RFID printers delivering Class 1 Gen 2 UHF RFID encoding designed to EPCglobal specifications. Designed for demanding duty cycles and environments, these printers feature EPCglobal Certified smart encoding technology and address a wide range of applications and global frequency requirements. The SL5000r comes in both a 4-inch and 6-inch model.

"We have made significant enhancements to our thermal bar code and RFID printer product lines, which reinforces our commitment to supporting our customers' evolving business needs and performance requirements," states Pendy Pendyala, vice president, global marketing, Printronix (News - Alert) Inc. "Additionally, we are responding to our customers' sensitivities to reducing energy costs and their carbon footprint by earning the ENERGY STAR."

The ENERGY STAR is earned by products that meet the strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Companies that choose an ENERGY STAR product over another model could save significant energy costs per year through reduced power consumption. Also, such products reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Printronix now provides the most thermal printer emulations as a standard feature for easy replacement of multiple printer brands. Companies often face this situation during an upgrade cycle or while streamlining operations following mergers and acquisitions. Printronix has added several standard features to the T5000r thermal bar code and SL5000r RFID printers to help businesses accommodate current applications, and also plan for the future. Each printer now comes with Ethernet built in and the highest memory in the industry at 64MB DRAM and 16MB Flash.

The VDC Research report says Printronix has been a share leader for RFID printers and applicators for five consecutive years.

"As passive RFID becomes more core to enterprises and value chains, the role of printers and applicators will be greatly expanded," state Drew Nathanson, director of research operations, VDC Research. "The RFID industry is poised for significant gains over the next five years, with several printer supported applications, such as supply chain management, ticketing and baggage handling, fueling much of the growth."