Thermal printing technology

We are already in the world of 3D printing technology and maybe it is too late to talk about Thermal printing as it has been there for a very long time. I was admired and wanted to write about this technology. I recently got exposed to this technology and was curious to try out a Thermal printer. I know this has been there for a very long time but only recently my focus went to this when I needed to do some mass printing and bought a mini printer. There are thermal printing papers and when we use a thermal printer, the printer can make print on the paper with heat and pressure. This is how this technology works.

Thermal paper

This paper is not the normal paper roll that we use. This paper is different which is coated with some chemicals on one surface. That's what makes the printing happen. When the thermal printer applies heat and pressure on the surface of the paper, chemical reactions happen and the print stays on the paper.

Source

We have to also know that thermal printing is not permanent. It stays for some time but goes off in a few days due to various reasons. Environmental exposure is the main contributing factor for the print to go away.

Cost effective

This type of printing is cost-effective compared to the regular methods. Ordinary printers cannot be used with thermal printers because they won't have the chemicals on the surface that can do the printing. The cost of this technology based printing is cheaper compared to regular ink based printing because the cost of the ink is the biggest thing in printing.

They say that a printer can be obtained for free if someone is purchasing the cartridge or ink. That's how it used to be in the olden days. Nowadays the cost has come down a lot but still printing is always costly. Earlier the inks used to be costly but today if we use ink tank printers, the printer itself is costly even though there is no problem of ink getting dried out.

Use of Thermal printers

I have seen these thermal printers being used in many places. There is a wide range of use cases for thermal printers. In restaurants, shops, fuel stations, and wherever there is a need to give a printed receipt this can be used. But we have to make use of the receipt if we want to in a few days. There is a high chance that the chemical on top of the paper can go away in a few days taking away the print on it.

Source

If we are sending couriers from one place to another, the thermal printer is the best option because we don't need to hold the print for more than 10 days or one month. It is enough if the print stays intact for as long as the post is delivered. Amazon delivery is widely using thermal printers to print the text on top of their courier items.

Drawbacks

One of the biggest drawbacks I see with this technology is that we cannot print color items with this. So far it is efficient to print only black color items. If we have to print color items, I guess we may have to work out a different solution. I guess that's a restriction with this technology.

Overall this is a great innovation and I like these printers I have one that I recently bought for some mass printing work. It works very well. I don't know how long it will last because it is made in China.

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