How to Store Your Thermal Paper Receipts

Many retailers are switching to thermal paper receipts because they print faster and save money. The receipt is printed on specialized paper upon which purchase information is heat transferred onto the receipt. While these thermal paper receipts get us out of the store faster, there is a downside. Thermal paper receipts fade quickly and consumers could be paying the price.

How to store your thermal paper receipts - cool dark place

It is not recommended that you store your thermal paper receipts in your car. Excessive heat will cause your thermal paper receipt to turn gray at best or turn completely black and illegible at worst. You should store your thermal paper receipts away from heat sources. Sunlight will fade your receipts faster than the normal rate.

How to store your thermal paper receipts - keep away from oils and liquids

Leaving your thermal paper receipts on your desk is a bad idea. Many do for convenience sake, but in researching this article, I happened upon a post that detailed how a cookie cost that individual $50. How can that be? The receipt was needed for a rebate and the individual left the receipt on their desk and had a cookie for a snack. Days later when they went to retrieve the receipt, they were shocked to find that the oils from the cookie faded their receipt beyond recognition. Liquid spills on receipts will also cause the same damage.

How to store your thermal paper receipts - do not laminate

While it may be appealing to laminate a receipt you may need later, doing so could damage your thermal paper receipt beyond recognition due to the heat necessary during lamination. Instead, if you must store your receipts, keep them in a manila folder and not near plastic items, whose oils could leach into your receipts and cause damage.

How to store your thermal paper receipts - best choice is to scan them

Since thermal receipts fade eventually regardless of any of the above techniques, any receipt that you may wish to keep long-term for warranty issues, income tax purposes, or high cost electronics in case of need to return, should be scanned into digital format or photocopied. Since taxpayers and business owners are required to keep receipts with tax returns for a period of 7 years in case of audit, it is highly recommended that these individuals scan or photocopy their thermal paper receipts for future use to ensure that their receipts are visible, legible and able to support their tax return.

In addition, many hospitals and physician's offices routinely provide patients with a sonogram picture of their child in utero. Even Chuckee Cheese offers thermal pictures if you hop in Chuckee's car. These thermal pictures are also at risk for fading, so it is recommended that a hard copy be made of these as well.

NeatReceipts, a company that manufactures a portable scanner that plugs into a USB port, markets a user friendly scanner for scanning receipts, as well as other documents such as bills. Models retail for up to approximately $200.00 per unit. However, for travelers on the go or small business owners, purchasing this technology could be a smart financial decision. All in all, keeping digital copies of your thermal paper receipts is the best way to store them for long-term needs.

Sources:

http://www.nbc4.com/answerstoaskliz2004/3992235/detail.html

http://www.businessknowhow.com/blog/2006/09/fading_receipts.php

http://www.neatreceipts.com/

Customer Service, Star Micronics (Edison, NJ)