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More about Thermal Transfer Printers
Thermal transfer printers are classified as non-impact printers, meaning that the
printer head uses heat to register an impression on paper instead of striking the
paper to create the image. The print head of the thermal transfer printer contains
several small resistive heating pins. When these heating pins come in contact with
the print media, they heat, melting the wax-based ink onto ordinary paper. Microprocessors
determine precisely which heating pins are heated to produce the desired printed
image. The size of the print head has to span the entire width of the print media,
therefore if your thermal printer is used to print 3x 5 inch images, it cannot be used
to print 1x 2 inch images, nor can a 1 x 2 inch size printer be used to print 3 x 5 inch. The thermal transfer ribbon consists of three layers, a base layer, the wax ink
layer, and the third lay is a coating. The coating and base material prevent the
ink from adhering to the print head and causing poor print quality. However, there
are several different types of thermal transfer ribbons available, each with their
own specific characteristics. The least expensive and possible the most common
is the wax ribbon. This type of ribbon is used for transfer labels for inventory
control, shipping, hangtags, and basically general-purpose use. The next type of
ribbon is the wax/resin ribbon and is used on paper as well as synthetic labels,
or on tags when the need for water resistance and smudge resistance is needed for
items such as pharmaceutical labels, frozen products, drums, pallets, mattress and
pillow labels, etc. Resin ribbons are used for printing on synthetics and for items were there is a
high risk of extreme heat, abrasion, oils, and chemical solvents. The most common
application for this type of thermal transfer labels would be outdoor labeling,
UL/CSA applications, Dry-cleaning labels etc.
Small business guides: , Thermal Transfer Labels Guide.com |
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