Thermal Printers

Basic thermal printer types

• Direct thermal printing - produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermal paper when the paper passes over the thermal print head. It supports monochrome printing only. Thermal paper is sensitive to light and heat which results in shorter lifespan of printed labels.
• Thermal transfer printing - material is applied to paper (or some other material) by melting a coating of ribbon so that it stays glued to the printing material – it can be plain paper, but also polyester or polypropylene. Supports colour printing. Also used for printing photos.

What to focus on when buying a thermal printer 

• Maximum tape/label width - determines the width of supported roll labels. Typical widths are 62 and 104 mm. There are also printers for thin labels with a width of 3.5 mm.
• Print resolution - listed in DPI (dots per inch). The most common resolutions are 203 and 300 DPI, which matches commonly used label formats. 600 DPI resolution supports a greater level of detail, which is suitable for photos.
• Print speed - typically between 100 and 150 mm/s, but can be as high as 250 mm/s. Slim label printers have slower printing speeds - from 20 to 30 mm/s. Buying a faster printer saves you time.
• Connectivity - most printers use USB, which is compatible with all modern computers, while LAN and WiFi connectivity enable network printing. Printer with RS232 and LPT connectors can be connected to older computers.