Citizen printers cut costs and boost efficiency for Danish cinemas

Citizen printers are offering cinemas and theatres in Denmark a reliable, efficient and cost-effective printing solution for ticketing. The Citizen CL‑S700 and CL‑S400 printers are replacing existing, less cost-effective alternatives at cinemas, boosting profitability in venues throughout the nation. In cinemas, it is vital that tickets are produced with speed and without error or machine failure in order to prevent delays and dissatisfied customers. Citizen's printers have achieved this time and time again, offering cinemas a powerful method of improving customer satisfaction, brand value and profitability.

The printers were provided by Citizen reseller Ebillet, a software company that integrates ticketing solutions for the entertainment industry in Denmark, serving 80% of all independent cinemas across the country. Esben Madsen, CEO of Ebillet, explained why the CL‑S700 and CL‑S400 were selected. "One of the cinema chains had found that their existing printers were proving very expensive to run, particularly because the reliability wasn't good," Esben said. "Almost every year the printers would have to be sent away to Holland for expensive repairs. The customer was looking for a more cost-effective and reliable alternative and, impressed by their price and reliability, selected the Citizen CL‑S700 and CL‑S400."

Ebillet and distributor Blue Star specify the CL‑S400 as standard in Danish cinemas, while the CL‑S700 is an option if speed is especially important. With external fanfold media for producing large volumes of tickets, the CL‑S400 provides simple, cost-effective and high quality printing for cinemas.

The CL‑S400 prints at speeds of up to six inches per second, enabling cinemas to serve customers fast, and incorporates sleep and standby functions that help save energy consumption during downtime between ticket sales. Citizen's proven Hi-Open mechanism opens vertically to minimise the footprint of the printer, which is a great benefit in cinema ticket booths where space is limited, and features adjustable media sensors to ensure tickets are produced swiftly and correctly. Esben Madsen explained why the media sensors makes the Citizen printers so well suited to cinema ticketing applications. "Citizen CL series thermal ticket printers are shipped with feed sensors that operate in both 'transparent' and 'reflective' mode. Cinema tickets with a black index mark on the reverse (i.e. most fan-fold tickets) require the feed sensor to operate in 'reflective' mode. Citizen printers allow the feed sensor to be easily switched from 'transparent' to 'reflective' mode by using a combination of the buttons on the front of the printer. The easy to read messages on the LCD control panel facilitate quick configuration and installation, so preparing the unit to use black mark sensors wasn't a problem for our cinema customers."

The CL‑S700, which offers an even faster printing option for cinema ticket booths, can produce high volumes of tickets quickly, simply and cost effectively with printing speeds up to 250mm per second and print quality resolution of up to 300 dpi. In applications such as cinema ticketing, where rapid customer service is crucial, easy media loading and access to all control features are essential – especially when busy staff may have neither the time nor the expertise to solve issues – and the Citizen CL-S700 meets this need. With all of the standard operations accessible from the front of the printer, the CL‑S700 has been designed for easy media front loading and simple maintenance operation, offering a blend of speed and convenience that is ideal for busy cinemas.

"Our customers are extremely happy with the Citizen printers," Esben Madsen says, "not least because the Citizen CL‑S400 costs less than the repairs on the previous solution. The CL‑S700 and CL‑S400 are exceptionally reliable and we haven't experienced any problems with them."

"Cinemas suffer lost revenue and damage to brand integrity when printers fail while customers are waiting to buy tickets," says Flemming Hansen, Regional Sales Manager, Citizen Systems Europe. "We've worked hard to improve the reliability as well as the functionality of each printer and that's been proved in this application, where we've provided reliable, efficient and cost-effective ticketing for our customers."