Thermal papers are firmly established in many areas of daily life: checkout receipts and price labels in the supermarket, tickets and entry cards.
Thermal printing
In the thermal printing process, the words or images are produced on the thermal paper by means of direct heat transmission.This is done by the printer’s thermal head, which consists of numerous little heating elements. The heating elements are electronically controlled and produce thermal energy which activates a color reaction on the functional thermo coating. The numerous little dots this produces then go to make up letters, barcodes, and images.Thermal printers have a relatively simple design and are easy to operate, which makes them energy-saving, quiet, fast, small, and compact – and they require no other consumables, which in turn saves money and makes them highly reliable. They keep working even under extreme conditions.
Structure and function of thermal paper
The thermal papers consist of a high-quality base paper . While this paper is still in the paper machine, a pre- coating is applied which provides the foundation for high quality images, prevents heat from being conducted into the paper itself, and helps safeguard the sensitivity of the thermocoating which is applied on top of it. The thermocoating is then applied in the coating machine. It contains the principal functional components such as the color-forming substances and color developer. Heat applied at points by the thermal printer to the thermocoating produces a chemical reaction which makes the lettering or image appear.
Thermal papers can also be given a protective coating on the front or back. A coating on the front (topcoat) is useful if the paper is to be exposed to mechanical wear, chemical influences, or environmental influences. A coating on the back (backcoat) provides additional protection when printing, laminating, and much more.
APPLICATIONS:
1. POS : Cash receipts at the supermarket; Weighing scales with printouts; Gas station
receipts; Restaurant receipts; Credit card slips; Bank account statements; Lottery tickets; Print-outs at information terminals (kiosk applications)
2. Plotting and Recording: Fax; Plotters; Information terminals; Medical print-outs (e.g. for ultrasound, ECG)
