Croptracker's Top Mobile Printers for Growers Round-Up

Printing on the Go – Why Mobile Printers are a Game-Changer for Farms

Modern agriculture demands real-time data and documentation right where the work happens. Gone are the days of returning to the office just to print a label or a receipt. Many farmers are already using a wide variety of farm management apps to document their farm activities and ensure traceability and food and work safety. Combined with mobile printers growers can get an extremely practical way of empowering field teams to generate essential records, receipts, and labels directly on-site, saving time and boosting productivity.

These handy devices bring several key advantages to farming operations:

• Enhanced Traceability: Instantly print labels for produce, livestock, or equipment, improving tracking from field to consumer and aiding compliance.
• Improved Efficiency: On-the-spot documentation streamlines workflows, reduces errors, and minimizes travel time.
• Real-Time Data Management: Instant record generation ensures data is accurate and up-to-date for inventory, compliance, and sales.
• Professionalism: Providing clear, standardized receipts and labels builds trust with customers and partners.

This round-up will explore five leading mobile printer brands vital to agricultural technology: Zebra, Brother, Honeywell, Epson, and Sneed Coding. We'll break down their features, durability, and best use cases to help you find the perfect printing partner for your farm.

What to Look For in a Farm or Packhouse Ready Printer

Choosing the right mobile printer for agriculture requires considering the unique demands of farm environments.

Built Tough: Understanding IP Ratings

The IP (Ingress Protection) rating is crucial for ruggedness. We defined IP in our rugged barcode scanner round up previously. The two-digit code indicates how well a device's outer shell resists solid particles (like dust) and liquids (like water splashes). The first digit (0-6) is for solids, and the second (0-9) is for liquids. For example, IP54 means excellent protection against dust and resistance to splashing water from any direction.

Farm environments are challenging, with dust, dampness, and unexpected rain. A printer must be robust to operate reliably. An IP54 rating is a common and excellent baseline for dust and splash resistance. Many rugged printers also have impressive drop ratings, essential for devices constantly on the move. Investing in a rugged printer reduces downtime and replacement costs, making it a strategic investment for continuous farm operations.

Connectivity & Compatibility

Seamless communication is key. We recommend looking for printers with reliable Bluetooth as opposed to Wi-Fi, which can be unreliable in remote farm locations. Bluetooth allows for easy connection to smartphones, tablets, and farm management systems. The best mobile printers integrate smoothly with existing farm software for streamlined data flow. Croptracker’s mobile app is ZPL bluetooth printer compatible for harvest and product or pallet tag printing on the go.

Power & Portability

Long-lasting batteries are essential for full workdays without constant recharging. A compact and lightweight design is also crucial to prevent user fatigue.

Print Quality & Media

Most mobile printers for labels and receipts use direct thermal technology, eliminating the need for ink or toner.6 For direct marking onto products, thermal inkjet technology is used, allowing printing on various surfaces and in different colors.14 Consider the media type needed: durable outdoor labels (waterproof, UV resistant) or direct marking on produce.

Compatability with your Software Systems:

Ensure that the systems you are using to generate labels, receipts, reports, BOL's and Shipping summaries can work with the printers you are buying. Contact your farm management software service providor before investing. Croptracker support staff work with our customers to ensure they buy the right printer for our software as part of our onboarding service. 

Mobile Printers in the Field: Our Top Picks

Here’s a closer look at some leading mobile printers invaluable for modern agricultural operations. This round up included a diverse range of printers that support a variety of use cases and connetion options. Always check with your software service providor before choosing!

🏅Croptracker’s Top Pick - Zebra Mobile Printers: Rugged Reliability for Every Task

Zebra's ZQ500 series are direct thermal printers built for tough conditions. Models like the ZQ511 are Bluetooth compatible and perfect for printing labels, receipts, and tags. Croptracker customers have raved about these printers and have been using their models for years without needing to look for a replacement.

Zebra truly excels in durability. The ZQ500 series boasts an IP54 rating for dust and splash protection and is MIL-STD 810G compliant. This military standard signifies exceptional resilience against drops, shocks, and extreme environmental conditions, providing high confidence for demanding farm environments.

These printers are ideal for field operations requiring durable labels for inventory management, asset tracking, and product identification. Their extreme ruggedness makes them perfectly suited for dusty fields, packing sheds, and light rain.

Brother Mobile Printers: Versatility from Full-Page to Tough Labels

Brother Mobile Solutions offers a diverse lineup, from compact full-page document printers to rugged label and receipt printers.

For full-page documents, the PocketJet series are thermal printers handling 5.8-inch to 8.5-inch documents. They offer USB-C, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. For tough, smaller print jobs, the RuggedJet series are speedy direct thermal printers for 1-inch to 4-inch labels, receipts, and tags.

The RuggedJet series has an IP54 certification, protecting against dust and splashing water, and is drop-tested up to 2.5 meters. The PocketJet achieves an IP54 rating only with an optional case. The PocketJet is suited for printing on-site invoices, contracts, or reports in the field or from a farm vehicle. The RuggedJet is excellent for small durable labels for produce bins, equipment tags, or receipts at farm stands.

Honeywell Mobile Printers: Performance Where It Counts

Honeywell's mobile printers are engineered for challenging environments, focusing on durability and reliable printing. These printers are not directly compatible with all mobile devices though the RP4F is compatible with some mobile label printing software like BarTender.

Honeywell offers robust mobile printers like the RP4F and MPD31D for receipt and label printing. They are energy-efficient with impressive battery life. The RP4F features Bluetooth 5.0 LE and Wi-Fi. The MPD31D is compact and lightweight.

Both the RP4F and MPD31D have an IP54 rating. The RP4F is ultra-rugged, surviving 2-meter drops and 1,000 0.5-meter tumbles. These printers are an excellent fit for high-volume labeling in demanding agricultural settings, such as packing houses or large-scale field operations, perfect for traceability, inventory, and shipping labels.

Epson Mobilink Mobile POS Printers: Streamlined Transactions on the Farm

Epson's Mobilink series excels at portable receipt printing, ideal for direct sales and point-of-sale (POS) applications common at farmers markets or for on-farm sales.

Models like the Mobilink TM-P20II and TM-P80II are ultra-compact and lightweight. They offer fast print speeds (up to 100 mm/sec) and impressive battery life (up to 27 hours for TM-P20II, 47 hours for TM-P80II Plus via Bluetooth). Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 5 or Bluetooth 5.0, and a "Paper Saving Mode" reduces media consumption.

Both the Mobilink TM-P20II and TM-P80II have an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance and a 6.9-foot drop rating. These printers are perfectly suited for farmers' markets, roadside stands, and any direct-to-consumer sales where on-the-spot receipts are essential. Their compact size and robust design make them reliable partners for mobile POS systems.

Sneed Coding Mobile Printers: Precision Marking for Produce and Packaging

Sneed Coding offers handheld inkjet printers for direct product marking, a valuable tool for adding batch codes, dates, or logos directly onto produce, packaging, or other farm materials. They are unique among the printers listed here in that they offer a model for direct packaging printing. They work great for large bin and pallet labels that are easy to read at a distance and have the added benefit of never falling off, like sticker labels are prone to.

SNEED-JET Titan T6 and Freedom Handheld printers are lightweight (Titan T6 is 2.6 lbs) and ultra-portable. They use thermal inkjet technology for high-resolution text, barcodes, QR codes, and date/batch codes. A major advantage is their ability to print on various porous, semi-porous, and non-porous surfaces (glass, plastics, metal, cardboard) with multiple ink colors. Battery life is substantial, with the Titan T6 offering 10 hours continuous print and 20 hours standby, and the Freedom Handheld offering 7+ hours.

We could not find an IP rating listed for these printers. Growers and packers should contact the vendor directly to confirm they are suited for the packhouse, storage or at the receiving bay.

Choosing Your Farm's Perfect Printer: A Quick Comparison

To help in the decision-making process, the following table provides a quick, at-a-glance comparison of the key mobile printer options discussed. Be sure to always check with your software and tech teams before investing in printers. 

Powering Productivity, One Print at a Time

Mobile printers are becoming a crucial tool for modern agricultural operations, driving efficiency, improving traceability, and supporting real-time decision-making.

By choosing the right mobile printer, you're investing in a powerful tool that streamlines workflows, reduces errors, and enhances communication across your operation, contributing to a more productive and resilient farm. Assess your specific needs: rugged labeling for dusty fields, quick receipts at the farmers' market, or precise product marking for compliance and branding. Ensure your software providors and tech teams have approved the printer for use in your workflows. Not all printers are created equally or use the same connections. Whatever your need, there's a mobile printing solution ready to transform how you work. Embracing these innovative tools can help your farm thrive, one perfect print at a time.