| Whenever we make a purchase at a shop or at a | | | | The ink on the ribbons used on thermal transfer |
| supermarket, more often than not, we see a little | | | | printers are not really ink. This substance is often made |
| printer next to the cash register at the checkout | | | | of wax, a mixture of wax and resin, or pure resin. |
| counter. That little printer, called a thermal transfer | | | | Ribbons made with pure wax are the least durable of |
| printer, prints out receipts, and is a minute detail in an | | | | the three, and they are often used to print out |
| elaborate system called point-of-sale system or POS. | | | | barcodes and labels. Printouts made with pure wax |
| Have you ever wondered how a thermal transfer | | | | ribbons are not expected to last more than a few |
| printer works? | | | | years and must always be protected from moisture. |
| As its name implies, a thermal transfer printer is | | | | Ribbons made with mixed wax and resins are a lot |
| dependent on heat. It makes use of a special form of | | | | more durable than those made of pure wax. They are |
| paper, called thermal paper, and a ribbon with solid "ink" | | | | used for printing finer images on smoother paper, or on |
| or resin with a polyester film backing. When you open | | | | film-coated paper. Despite their increased durability, |
| a thermal transfer printer, you will see the rolled | | | | printouts made from thermal transfer printers using |
| thermal paper nestled within, just beneath the printer | | | | ribbons with mixed wax and resin should still be |
| head. Sandwiched between the thermal paper and the | | | | protected from moisture and chemical exposure. |
| printer head is the ribbon. | | | | Ribbons made with pure resin are not used for POS |
| When the thermal transfer printer is used, what | | | | and checkout systems. They are for printing on |
| happens is that the printer head generates heat. Just | | | | plastics. The printouts made from these ribbons are |
| what pixels or dots are heated on the printer head | | | | the most durable, and they require minimum protection |
| depends on the characters that are being printed. The | | | | from chemicals or the elements. |
| heat is then transmitted through the polyester backing | | | | Thermal transfer printers are simple machines that |
| of the ribbon, and it causes the resin or the "ink" on the | | | | work using simple processes. And yet, they are a |
| ribbon to melt. When the "ink" melts, it comes into | | | | minute but definitely essential detail in an entire POS |
| contact with the thermal paper to form the characters. | | | | system. |