Two different printing technologies are used by thermal label printers, Thermal Direct (Short-Term Print) and Thermal Transfer (Permanent Print).
Thermal direct printers use the print head to heat specially treated
label stock to produce black print short-term labels. Thermal direct
printing is the cost effective alternative to label printing as does not
require a ribbon to print.
Thermal direct labels are best used in controlled temperature
environments out of direct heat or sunlight. One of the main purposes of
thermal direct labels is for shipping labels as they won’t need to last
for more than one year. For labels that need to last longer than one
year or will be exposed to sunlight or heat then thermal transfer labels
are recommended.
Common Uses: Shipping labels, compliance labels,
receipts, picking tickets, coupons, event tickets, name tags, visitor
passes, citations and parking tickets, common bar code printing, patient
and visitor identification.
Thermal transfer printers use the print head to heat special wax or
resin ribbons to produce permanent print labels. These labels can endure
harsher environments including rough treatment, rubbing and sunlight.
Thermal transfer printers can also print direct thermal labels with the
correct media and by removing the ribbon.
Common Uses: Product identification labels (stock
labels), shelf labels, permanent identification, sample and file
tracking, asset tagging, inventory identification, certification labels,
laboratory specimens, cold storage and freezers and outdoor
applications.