Thermal Transfer and Thermal Direct Printers

With good quality label printers that have built-in barcode support, it is usually possible to print excellent bar codes, provided the manufacturer’s requirements are followed. It is not advisable to short-circuit your success by purchasing sub-par label stock, ribbons, or ink. Additionally, regular maintenance of the printer is necessary, including cleaning the print heads.

• First ask what type of print technology is best suited for your application? Direct thermal or thermal transfer?
• Thermal direct printers provide quality symbols, but most thermal label stocks cannot be read with infrared light. Thermal direct material may also degrade with exposure to excessive heat and bright light.
• Thermal transfer printers also provide outstanding symbols. They use a ribbon to transfer the ink to the paper. There is some extra cost associated with the ribbon, but the media may be less expensive.
• Make sure that the correct temperature setting is used to avoid bar codes that have bars or spaces that are either too narrow or too wide, or that have rough instead of sharp edges. These temperature settings will be based on the media you are using.