Fressnapf Tiernahrungs GmbH is Europe's biggest pet food chain, offering a wide choice of pet food and accessories at low prices. Established 13 years ago, there are now more than 450 Fressnapf outlets in Germany, employing around 2,200 people.

In order to simplify co-operation between the individual outlets and its headquarters, as well as optimise the till, goods handling and back-office services, Fressnapf has introduced a new modular IT solution. A pilot project, consisting of 50 new systems was undertaken at the start of the summer 2003, with the roll-out scheduled for January 2004. The new goods handling system includes Epson TM-J2100 inkjet printers, in addition to a complete Linux POS configuration which uses "Eurocash" software, as well as MDE equipment.

Bernd Hilgenberg, the IT Coordination Manager at Fressnapf commented: "We made the deliberate decision to go for the Epson 2-colour printer because it guarantees good printing speed, is quiet and the sales slips are non-fading and water resistant. The excellent monochrome and colour print quality enables us to use it for various marketing purposes."

Thanks to its simple programming capability, the TM-J2100 can be used for printing coupons, offers, adverts or vouchers. The logos are stored in the printer's memory during installation ensuring they are quickly available. The printer also gives Fressnapf the option of printing its black, white and red receipts on normal or eco-friendly recycled paper.

Epson SEA-Jet® technology makes the TM-J2100 one of the fastest inkjet printers used in the POS sector, capable of producing receipts at 50 millimetres per second. The ink cartridge only needs to be changed after 11.5 million black or 5.5 million colour characters have been printed. In addition, the four different paper settings and two paper-cutting modes ensure greater flexibility.

The space-saving flat casing allows sufficient room for other peripherals such as a card terminal. All of the operating controls are mounted on the front of the printer ensuring handling is also very easy. For example, changing the paper or the ink cartridge is quick and simple thanks to the well-proven "drop-in" design.

" The receipt printers and the receipts will definitely play an important role at Fressnapf in the future," concluded Hilgenberg.