| If you have receipts coming from groceries, | | | | Wasp |
| boutiques and even restaurants, chances are | | | | Zebra |
| those receipts are printed using thermal printers. | | | | Epson |
| Unlike most printers that would need a toner or | | | | Advantages of Thermal Printers |
| ink, thermal printers use heat to transfer the | | | | Thermal printers are highly favored by many |
| image to the paper. Currently, most of the | | | | business establishments for printing of the |
| thermal printers that are available in the market | | | | receipts because they are able to print faster |
| are those that can only print text and images | | | | than most other printers. Prior to the introduction |
| using one color, often black. There are a number | | | | of thermal printers, business establishments would |
| of thermal printers now available that can print | | | | print receipts with dot matrix printer. These |
| two colors: black and red. These are called | | | | printers can be quite noisy and annoying for both |
| two-color direct thermal printers. These work by | | | | the user and those within the establishment. |
| applying heat in two different temperatures on | | | | Another advantage for using thermal printers is |
| the paper to create the change in the color. | | | | that it is more economical. Unlike most printers |
| Aside from receipts, thermal printing technology is | | | | where you would need to buy ink cartridges, |
| also used in most fax machines that are available | | | | toners or ribbons, thermal printers do not need to |
| in the market. It is also used in the medical field | | | | have cartridges to be replaced with paper supplies. |
| for printing ultrasound imaging results. | | | | You will just need to replace the paper that is |
| How do Thermal Printers Work? | | | | used for the printer. |
| A thermo-sensitive paper is inserted between the | | | | Disadvantages of Thermal Printers |
| thermal head and the rubber roller that would | | | | One disadvantage of using a thermal printer is |
| feed the paper through the printer. The thermal | | | | that it can only work with a specialized paper, |
| printer then sends a current of electricity to the | | | | which can be more expensive than ordinary bond |
| heating resistor located on the thermal head. | | | | paper that is used by other printers. |
| In effect, there is still some form of ink or | | | | Furthermore, texts that are printed on thermal |
| coloring just like all types of printer. The | | | | papers are not permanent. Over time, the printed |
| difference is that for thermal printers, the ink or | | | | text fades. Manufacturers of thermal paper have |
| coloring is embedded on a special paper designed | | | | stated that the average length of time for the |
| specifically for thermal printing. | | | | printed text to last on a thermal paper is fifty |
| Common Thermal Printer Brands | | | | years. This makes thermal printers not a viable |
| IBM | | | | choice if you are printing business documents. |
| Rimage | | | | |