How Thermal Paper Works?

Despite the digital paper less revolution, paper remains an important aspect of our daily lives. It is impossible to imagine our commercial and industrial processes without paper.

Thermal paper is one of the most common types of paper used for commercial purposes. By definition, thermal paper is the paper that is chemically coated to responds to heat. When heat is applied, the dye in the coating changes color. This way visible text and images could be printed on the paper without using ink.

Thermal paper is ordinary high quality paper that is coated with a mixture of dye and an acid. When heat is applied to the paper, the temperature rises gradually to the melting point of the coating. Once the temperature is beyond the melting point, the coating breaks down. The dye reacts with the acid and changes color. The result is the visible patterns that we see on the paper.

One main issue with thermal paper is the fact that the dye disappears after sometime. This could happen because of the reversal in chemical reaction of the mechanical wearing of the dye from the surface of the paper. This is why thermal paper is not considered ideal for long-term record keeping applications.

Modern thermal paper comes with a top coating that is applied over the dye and acid mixture. This top coat remains unaffected by the heat source. The major purpose of this coat is to preserve the writing on the paper by providing a physical barrier to the wear and tear.

The history of thermal papers could be traced to 1965v when Texas Instruments invented the thermal print head. The product and the procedure really took off in 1970s when practical thermal printing machines were introduced by several US and Japanese firms. To this date, thermal paper has remained an important aspect of POS machines.

Direct Thermal vs. Thermal Transfer Label Printers

It is not new for people to get confused when it comes to the differentiation of thermal label and thermal transfer label printers. People are also not sure about which type of printer will be most suitable for them. All the top thermal printers these days that you find are dual mode printers. This means that they have the capability to print both thermal transfer as well as direct thermal.

Those people who want direct thermal should go for a true direct thermal, non-dual mode printer as it suits them the most. However it is a must that the features are examined of each printer to avoid buying the wrong machine from the store that also sells monarch label gun, thermal papers and so on.

Direct Thermal Or Thermal Transfer: Which One Should You Go For?

Here are some of the questions that would help you determine which type of thermal printer you require:

1. Are you ever going to have a need of printing labels in colors other than the usual black?
2. Would your labels require scanning?
3. Would labels require having 1 year shelf-life?
4. Will there be a need of printing high-density bar codes?
5. Is there a chance your labels will make contact with heat or sunlight?
6. Will there be a chance of labels getting surface friction or similar abuse.
7. Are you looking forward to printing on a variation of substrates such as files, foils and papers?

If you said yes to one or more of the above asked questions, you should quickly choose a thermal transfer because it will be the most suitable type for your work. Let’s take a look at some printer comparisons for a better understanding of the printer differences.

Thermal Transfer Printers

Such printers need carbon ribbon which gets transferred onto substrative via heat. This is the reason why these printers are given the name thermal transfer printers. Users are not limited to the usage of black color there are various colors in which ribbons are available. The printing done from thermal transfer printers is very crispy as well as durable.

Direct Thermal Printers

Now let’s talk a bit about direct thermal printers. These are the ones that use heat activated papers and films. However, they don’t need transfer ribbons and unlike the thermal transfer printers, direct thermal printers do have a color limitation and can only print in black color. However, there are some special preprinted direct thermal papers available to get that variation but is rarely utilized. Such printers can be acquired from a store that sales monarch label gun, printer rolls etc.

Thus you just read about direct thermal vs. thermal transfer label printers and learned about their features and what makes them different from each other. You can hit your nearest thermal printer provider to learn more about various printers and their applications. There, you will also be able to see which models do what and what are their prices. This will help you determine which printer to buy and as soon as you have made your decision, you can buy the product right from the printer provider!

DIY Guide to Restore Faded Thermal Paper

Heat-activated or ‘thermal paper’ may fade overtime. This happens because of the paper’s chemical coating reacting to other chemicals, water and many other types of oils. For the reason that most people keep receipts for financial track recording i.e. tax audits, rebates, warranty protection and/or refunds, losing significant info can very well result in serious results. One of the many serious consequences includes loss of monies or legal complexities. You would have a sigh of release when we tell you that the faded thermal paper can be restored. Yes, it is possible, however, the entire paper receipt has to be white and not brown or black.

In order to restore the thermal paper, you are going to require a few essentials, which include a scanner, a computer and a photo editing software. As a first step, scan your faded paper as a colored image into your computer. When done, run your favorite or preferred photo editing application so that you can use its special effects or tools to create a negative image.  A negative image will have the faded print outlined in white. It may print the whole thing white as well depending on the type of paper, its print and the current condition.

Choose ‘Negative’ or ‘Create a Negative’ or similar option to turn the photo in to a black and white image. Once done, you will be able to see the information in a clearer way. However, you might require adjusting the contrast levels or also use ‘smooth’ or ‘sharpen’ features. You can also utilize a hair dryer to retrieve info from a damaged thermal paper. If you have a thermal paper’s scanned copy that did not restore the info of the print, you can tweak the copy by turning it into a negative.

For this, turn the hair dryer on and blow heat over the faded thermal paper. Blow the heat over the back of the paper and do this in a light manner as you don’t want to burn the paper with the heat. Also make sure that you keep the dryer at the distance of at least eight to twelve inches. This would help you ensure the paper doesn’t completely go black, losing all the info in it. You would be amazed to know that you can get this task done even if you don’t have a hair dryer. The alternative to hair dryer for this task is a light bulb.

You should save your restored thermal paper’s copy in your records while putting the original hardcopy in a cool, dry place. Make sure to store the originals in a place that doesn’t make contact with UV light, water or any sort of chemicals as these things can damage severely. Please make a note that you shouldn’t heat-activate the front of the thermal paper document. Doing so can damage the original thermal print information, especially when the heat source is held too close to the front of the paper. If you keep this in mind, you are in the safe zone.