Direct thermal printers include a type of low- to medium-resolution printers. Direct thermal printers use a type of coated paper that darkens when heat is applied to it. The paper is passed by a line of heating elements that burn dots onto the paper.
Direct thermal printers use chemically treated, heat-sensitive media that blackens when they pass under the thermal printhead. Direct thermal printers have no ink, toner, or ribbon. Their simple design makes thermal printers durable and easy to use. Because there is no ribbon, these printers cost less to operate than inkjet, laser, impact, and thermal transfer printers. Most mobile printers use direct thermal technology.
Thermal media images of direct thermal printers may fade over time. If the label is overexposed to heat, light, or other catalysts, the material will darken and make the text or bar code unreadable. For these reasons, direct thermal printing is not used for lifetime identification applications. The readability of direct thermal labels, wristbands, and receipt papers varies greatly, depending on the usage conditions, but the technology provides ample lifespan for many common bar code printing applications including shipping labels, patient and visitor identification, receipts, and ticket printing.
Direct thermal printers are used mostly for industrial purposes, primarily because of their speed. Probably the main advantage in using a direct thermal printer is that it uses no ink whatsoever. The only consumable, therefore, is the paper itself. Even though this type of paper may be expensive, there is no requirement to purchase or store ink, and it is the only item that requires replacing in order to keep the printer running smoothly.
In addition, because of their relatively low maintenance, direct thermal printers are most often seen printing out receipts from cash registers, credit card machines, and ATM’s. These printers are also fast, which makes them the perfect choice for many business applications.
They do not have many moving parts, which means they are reliable and require very little maintenance. Another major advantage of direct thermal printers is that, since they require no ink or toner, the user only needs to supply paper to insure function.
Zebra LP 2844 – Label printer – B/W – direct thermal – Roll (4.25 in) – 203 dpi – up to 240.9 inch/min – Parallel, Serial, USB is one of direct thermal printers you can choose in the market. This printer is ideal for applications requiring a space-saving, desktop-size, 4.09″ (104 mm) printer. This user-friendly printer delivers optimal performance in today’s on-demand desktop labeling applications. Even, it has a sturdy construction with a double-walled ABS casing.
The LP 2844 integrates easily into a variety of printing applications, including shipping and receiving, inventory control, healthcare, and medical laboratories, transportation and logistics, and e-commerce postage. Serial, parallel, and USB interfaces make this flexible, reliable, and affordable printer a smart investment among other direct thermal printers available out there.
Another option of direct thermal printers is Seiko Smart Label Printer 450 – Label printer – direct thermal – 300 dpi x 300 dpi – Serial, USB. Using this printer, you can stop wasting time trying to hand feed label sheets to your standard printer.
Pick up this new Smart Label Printer (SLP) and you will have everything you need to print labels easily, one at a time. No ink, toner, or complicated software to mess with, just plug the SLP into your Windows PC or Mac, connect to the built-in USB or Serial port and you are ready to print.
