Driving
How operators can help reduce waste, improve accuracy, and stay innovative
Businessman Harry Gordon Selfridge coined the phrase “The customer is always right” in 1909. Over a century later, this sentiment rings especially true in the hospitality industry, where success starts and ends with customer loyalty.
That said, customers want solutions and services that help make their mundane but necessary tasks — like ordering food or checking into a hotel — quicker, more convenient, and more accurate. Small changes like adding liner-free labels can have a big impact.
Packaging Changes Call for Stronger Adhesives
The adoption of self-service technologies within hospitality is at an all-time high, but there is still plenty of room for growth. This is especially evident post-pandemic, as online orders, curbside pickup, delivery, and fulfillment methods rapidly evolved to meet ever-changing social distancing requirements.
Packaging also became a focal point for consumers and operators, resulting in two major themes:
Food theft of delivery and pickup orders resulted in the need for more tamper-evident “safety seals.”
Consumers still voiced the need for more sustainable or eco-friendly packaging, resulting in innovative packaging surfaces like corrugated cardboard and wax papers.
While sustainability and safety changes to packaging are essential, stronger adhesives are also crucial to ensure labels stick and provide necessary information. Each label that stays put provides better order accuracy and more repeat customers.
of consumers cite order accuracy as the most important factor that would inspire a repeat visit to the drive-thru.
Trend No. 1
Growing Order Entry Models Require Better Connectivity
In the hospitality industry, technology is switching up order entry models to deliver quicker, more convenient service:
Traditional POS Systems:
Reliable and efficient, these are the backbone of many businesses.
In fact, 76% of operators say using technology in a restaurant provides a competitive advantage, with 50% of operators devoting resources to making the dining area more productive and efficient in 2023, and 48% invested in enhancing the customer experience.
With the rise in different ways to pay, operators are prioritizing technologies that can work with what they already have – fast.
85% of restaurant operators report integration with other systems as a top functionality driving their 2024 POS purchases
83% are aiming to incorporate tablet-based POS software, which can allow wait staff to take orders and process payments right at the table
Close to a third (30%) are looking for kiosk features & functionalities in their POS purchases
Order entry methods today could change tomorrow and operators need flexible solutions with rock-solid connectivity.
That’s why the TM-L100 can be easily integrated into existing POS systems, thanks to embedded ePOS capacities. The printer also has Bluetooth, WiFi, USB, Serial, and Ethernet connectivity capabilities, and device charging models (to charge peripheral devices such as a tablet), so operators can future-proof their businesses whether they are ready for it today, or need it tomorrow.
Grab and go (cashierless checkout)
Analysts foresee a bright future for the linerless label market, driven by eco-friendly trends, advanced adhesive tech, and increasing demand for customizable, durable labeling solutions.
Ismail Sutaria
Principal Consultant
Future Market Insights
The TM-L100 Liner-Free Compatible Thermal Label Printer supports a range of media — including thick and highly adhesive media — to create a variety of permanent and semi-permanent labels that can result in:
Increased order accuracy and food safety
Reduced food waste and food costs
Reduced time and mistakes associated with handwriting labels
With a growing emphasis on sustainability, there is a burgeoning opportunity for linerless labels that are eco-friendly and contribute to a circular economy. Labels made from recycled or biodegradable materials and those that support recycling initiatives are gaining traction.
Future Market Insights
Consumers have made it clear that they are willing to pay for more sustainable options: 80% of consumers are very or somewhat concerned about the environmental impact of the products they buy, up from 68% in 2023 and 66% in 2022.
In hospitality, order accuracy impacts how much potential food waste is produced.
For one quick-service restaurant, Market Force Information calculated the real cost of inaccuracy to exceed $26 million annually.
Replacing inaccurate orders: 7% (or $1.8M)
By incorporating linerless labels, operators can spur waste-reduction wins in other ways:
The linerless label market was predicted to be valued at $1.9B in 2023 and $3.0B by 2033.5
Consumers Want Businesses to Waste Less
Back in 2012, Starbucks was known for handwritten orders on cups as a way “to form a connection between baristas and customers.”
In 2015, restaurant owners Bill and Patti Roland created Katalyst, an updated point-of-sale system that transformed their business – which included finding a reliable POS printer partner.
Katalyst works mainly with the Epson mSeries and mPOS-friendly thermal printers, as well as the Epson TM-U220 impact receipt and kitchen printers.
Finally, when Katalyst introduced its catering module, having a full suite of Epson printers available that offer printing for different size invoice slips or sticky labels, has opened up a lot of opportunities.
“We work with a lot of coffee shops and bagel shops, and the liner-free labels are an integral part of their workflow, which has opened up opportunities for us in that space," said Co-Founder Cole Dillon. "Similarly, catering is a bit of an untapped market. Our catering customers are looking for a specific type of printer slip and invoice, so being able to offer them the full breadth of Epson’s solutions has been great as we move forward into different markets.”
Making the Case
for Liner-Free Labels
In 2016, printed labels were introduced to track inventory and standardize pricing. Today, the label also helps improve production, consolidation, and customer handoff, while maintaining a stay on brand — playing a large role in customer satisfaction.
Optimize order flow
Many business types can benefit from going linerless including (but not limited to):
Over our many years of working with Epson, we’ve had very few printers that have stopped working; and very few tech support calls. We rely on Epson’s quality – every time I get a product, it’s built well and works exactly how I expect.
Anthony Rosato
Customer Success Specialist
Katalyst
Enable Your Labels to Do
Exceptional performance, advanced connectivity, and online ordering ready, Epson label printers are as versatile as they are capable.
Epson makes it easy to print personalized labels on demand, in-store, and even from online orders. Its liner, liner-free, and wearable label solutions are engineered for use in a wide variety of environments, including multiple uses in hospitality, retail, and more. Epson OmniLink TM-L100 Liner-Free Compatible Thermal Label Printer advanced features include:
Extensive liner-free
media support
Epson-tested media supports a wide variety of use cases
Flexible connectivity
For virtually any environment with built-in USB and Ethernet plus options for Serial port, wireless and Bluetooth
Reliability you can count on
Engineered for liner-free labels with long auto-cutter and printhead life
Online ordering ready
Server Direct Print allows the printer to retrieve orders from a web server and print a receipt without POS software integration
Advanced paper-saving
features
White space reduction and character height reduction help reduce media usage up to 47 percent
Label-taken sensor
Accepts multiple jobs but only prints one label at a time
Dynamic printing
Simultaneously share between legacy POS terminals, tablet, and mobile devices with multiple interfaces, as well as the ability to print from cloud servers
Smart connectivity
Provides data communication and charging to a mobile device through a single USB cable (ethernet and Bluetooth models only, cable not included)
USB Network Tethering
Provides network connectivity from
the printer to a tablet
POS peripheral support
Including barcode scanners and Epson displays
To request more info,
Reduced food waste
by error reduction
The TM-L100 features paper savings of up to 47% more space per label, and supports 80mm, 58mm, and 40mm paper widths*
Over the projection period, the linerless label market is expected to surge at a CAGR of 4.9%.5
The Linerless Label Market
Liner-Free Benefits
The Industry Impact
What the Competition
Is Focused On
are willing to try various technologies or have no strong technology preference, as long as their orders are accurate.
62%
of restaurant drive-thru customers
Trend No. 2
Trend No. 3
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58%
Linered to linerless
Reduced food waste
Use of even less paper
Quick-Service-Restaurants
More
Less
with
Kiosks:
Self-service stations help reduce wait times and boost customer satisfaction.
Mobile Apps:
Order on the go with just a few taps.
Tablets:
Personalized service right at the table.
Phone Orders:
Classic convenience for those who prefer to call.
Text Orders:
Simple and swift, ideal for the tech-savvy customer.
Long-term customer value: 67% (or $17.4M)
Inaccurate deliveries via GrubHub, Uber Eats, DoorDash: 26% (or $6.7M)
2023
2033
76%
50%
48%
67%
7%
26%
$1.9B
$3.0B
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Mobile
POS terminals (traditional, fixed)
Self-checkout terminals
Percent of operators reporting technologies that they have in place or are currently upgrading:
20%
39%
67%
23%
More sustainable with no backing paper
Better accuracy and tamper evident/safety seals
More labels on each roll may mean fewer rolls need to be purchased
Money savings in roll storage and waste disposal
Less downtime to change rolls
Click-and-collect
Weight scale
E-commerce
Manufacturing
Logistics
Extensive liner-free media support
Flexible
connectivity
Reliability you can count on
Online ordering
ready
Label-taken
sensor
Dynamic
printing
Smart
connectivity
USB network tethering
Advanced paper-saving features
POS peripheral support
A survey by Circuit Route Planner reveals that 80% of food delivery drivers have admitted to tampering with deliveries by eating the food.2
Recycling, ethical sourcing, and zero waste goals are viewed as 'really important' by over one-third of shoppers.
TREND 1: STRONGER ADHESIVES
TREND 2: BETTER CONNECTIVITY
TREND 3: LESS WASTE
SAFETY...
SUSTAINABILITY...
4
6
7
8
9
5
5
5
5
4
Less Waste
Better Connectivity
Stronger Adhesives
Making Liner-Free Labels Part of the Workflow
What Are Operators Focused On?
In fact, 76% of operators say using technology in a restaurant provides a competitive advantage, with 50% of operators devoting resources to making the dining area more productive and efficient in 2023, and 48% invested in enhancing the customer experience.
76%
50%
48%
7
Using technology
Productivity & efficiency
Customer experience
1
3
To Go
the Need
Linerless
6
6
Sources:
1. HT, “2023 Customer Engagement Technology Study”
2. Circuit Route Planner, "Do You Know Your Courier," April 20, 2022
3. Progressive Grocer, "75th Consumer Expenditures Study: Taking the Pulse of Shopper Attitudes"
4. HT, “The 2022 QSR® magazine Drive-Thru Study”
5. Future Market Insights, “Global Linerless Label Market to reach US$ 3 billion by 2033, expanding at a 4.9% CAGR”
6. HT, “2024 POS Software Trends Study”
7. National Restaurant Association, “2024 State of the Restaurant Industry Report”
8. PDI Technologies, “Interest in Sustainable Products Remains Top of Mind for US Consumers” 9. Market Force Information, “The Real Cost of Inaccuracy for Quick Serve Restaurants”
Linerless labels can help reduce paper waste by eliminating unnecessary label backings
*Paper savings depend on the text and graphics printed on the receipt
*Paper savings depend on
the text and graphics printed
on the receipt.
The TM-L100 features paper savings of up to 47% more space per label, and supports 80mm, 58mm, and 40mm paper widths*