Thermal Transfer Printing 101

Thermal transfer printing is a printing method in which wax or resin or both are applied to paper or some other material. By melting the wax or the resin, from the ribbon, the medium stays glued to the material. It differs from direct thermal printing as there no ribbon.

Thermal Transfer Printing is preferred over Direct Thermal Printing on surfaces that are heat-sensitive or when higher durability of printed matter. Thermal transfer is a popular print process particularly used for the printing of identification labels. It is the most widely used printing process in the world for the printing of high-quality barcodes. Printers like label makers can laminate the print for added durability.

The thermal transfer print process includes three main components: a non-movable print head, a carbon ribbon (the ink) and a substrate to be printed, which would typically be paper, synthetics, card, metal or textile materials. These three components effectively form a sandwich with the ribbon in the middle.

A thermally compliant print head, in combination with the electrical properties of the ribbon and the correct temperature properties of the ribbon ink are all essential in producing a high-quality printed image.