The Mechanism Behind Thermal Transfer Printers

The little printer in the cash counter area is a familiar site you encounter, while you are shopping in a store or a supermarket. These printers are actually thermal transfer printers, which print out receipts. The mechanism of the thermal transfer printers consist of a minute detail in a complex system called as POS (point of sale system).

The thermal transfer printers work in the presence of heat and employ a thermal paper and a ribbon. The ribbon has solid ink or resin embedded in a polyester film. You can see the thermal paper, if you open the printer and look under the printer head. It is present in rolled form and the ribbon is present between the thermal paper and the printer head.

While in use, the printer head in the thermal transfer printers generates heat. Those dots or pixels, which are heated by the printer head, decide the type of characters that appear in the printed version. The heat from the printer head is transferred to the polyester backing in the ribbon and the solid ink present in the ribbon melts in response to the heat. The softened ink touches the thermal paper and the characters are formed.

The ink present in the ribbon of the printer is actually a material that is made from wax, a combination of wax and resin or just plain resin. Of the three types, wax ribbons are not durable and are mainly used for printing labels and bar codes. The printouts that are made using the wax ribbons remain in good condition, for a short period of time only. So these print outs should be safeguarded from exposure to damp and humid conditions.

The ribbons that are made from a blend of resin and wax are considerably more long lasting than the wax ribbons. Hence they are used for enhanced and better quality images that are produced on paper, which is smooth or film coated. Though they are more dependable than the wax ones, they still need to be sheltered from chemical exposure and humid conditions.

Pure resin ribbons are generally not used in the point of sale system and the check out system, like the waxed or wax and resin types. They are mostly used for the purpose of printing in plastic materials. The resultant printouts are long lasting and do not need any protective measures from chemical or moisture exposure.

The basic mechanism behind the working of thermal transfer printers is very simple and easy to understand. These printers play a significant role in the efficient functioning of a point of sale system.