Ansley 4AG

• Thermal Paper
• POS Paper
• Thermal Paper Rolls
• Printer Ribbons
• Plotter Paper
• Engineering Paper
• Thermal Fax Paper
• Epson Printer Ribbons
• Okidata Ribbons
• Colored Thermal Paper

The most common form of inkless printing is called thermal printing. As the name implies, thermal printing is done by applying heat to a special thermal printing paper. Thermal paper has a special ink stored within its structure. When heat is applied the structure breaks down allowing two parts of the ink to mix making it visible.

Thermal printing is often used in commercial applications which require high volume printing. Things like ATM receipts, gas pump receipts, cash register tapes, credit card machine slips, and similar devices are most commonly created with a thermal printing process. Fax machines also used thermal paper, but these are being phased out in most companies in favor of internet faxing or email document attachments.

Thermal printers are chosen for these high volume applications for a number of reasons, most of them are cost related. The mechanism of a thermal printer is much simpler than a conventional ink printer, so it is easier to build. Because it is easier to make, thermal printers are cheaper than conventional printers. They have fewer moving parts that can wear out or break, so they tend to have a much longer lifespan and require fewer repairs. Finally, the only refill necessary for a thermal printer is the thermal paper roll. Expensive ink cartridges or messy ribbons are not required. This makes it cheaper and easier to refill the printer. All of these advantages can add up to a significant savings for the business owner.

One other advantage of thermal printers is that they are nearly silent while printing. Many older types of printers, particularly impact printers, were very noisy when printing. Depending upon the type of business in which they were used, the noise of the printer could be disruptive or annoying to patrons.

On the other hand, one of the disadvantages of thermal printing is that the ink within the thermal paper roll is heat activated. If the paper roll is exposed to heat, it can darken as the ink is released and become useless. This can happen either before or after the paper is used. If it happens after the paper has been used, then the printing disappears as the entire sheet turns as dark as the printed area. This means that business locations that get very hot can’t use the less expensive thermal printers. Restaurant kitchens, for example, are often too hot for the thermal paper. Heat sensitivity can limit storage locations for thermal paper as well.

Most thermal paper is bought and used in rolls, not unlike those found on an accountant’s adding machine. Since a receipt may be of variable length depending upon the number of items it contains, using a continuous roll and cutting each receipt to the length needed ensures that each printed receipt uses only as much paper as is required.

For current pricing on a wide variety of thermal papers, visit buyrolls.com which offers not only thermal paper rolls, but also a variety of commercial ink printer ribbons and bond paper rolls as well.