Thermal Transfer Labels Overview

Thermal transfer labels are printed using thermal transfer technology, which utilizes thermal transfer ribbons. Ribbons are the main difference between thermal transfer printing and direct thermal printing which doesn’t use ribbons and is a more cost-effective, but lower-quality option.

Thermal transfer technology is most often used for barcode labels or price tags, though its application is becoming more widespread, because of its excellent print quality, long shelf life of thermal transfer labels, fast production, no label waste…

There are three main types of ribbons and it is extremely important to know which type is used for what label materials. If you make a mistake of combining unmatching elements, the printing might not produce any image at all. However, when you match the right ribbon with the right label material, you can achieve excellent results: durable labels with an extremely long shelf-live and sharp, quality images. Also, when using the right combination of ribbons and substrates, you don’t need to add protective layers, thus avoiding additional costs of top-coating.

This technique, when used correctly, can produce far better labels than most ink-based printing techniques, which is why barcode labels are mostly produced in thermal transfer technology, using thermal transfer ribbons.

Let’s tour take a look at this helpful info with our Thermal Transfer Ribbon Pros and see how thermal transfer ribbons actually work.