Thermal Printers

What is a Thermal Printer?

A thermal printer uses heat to form an image onto a special kind of paper. This paper have a coating that changes to black color when exposed to heat over a period of time.

Since the 1980s, thermal printers are widely adopted for use in printing high quality barcode symbols.

Why are Thermal Printers used for Barcode Label printing?

Besides offering capabilities to print barcodes at high speed and quality, thermal printers typically do not require toners. It is thus cost-effective and efficient to use thermal printers for printing large volume of labels. On top of that, thermal printers are typically purpose-built for use with label rolls. This reduces wastage and allow you to print more labels. Jams are also less likely to occur using paper rolls.

Types of Thermal Printers

Direct thermal - prints the image by applying heat onto the coated paper.
Thermal transfer - prints the image by melting wax-based ink from the transfer ribbon onto the paper. This type of printing does not require special coated paper.