Looking for Thermal Printer Ribbons?
When you are using any kind of printer, it is important to make sure you use the right consumables with it. This includes the paper, inks, and ribbons needed to get the result and quality of finish the equipment is for. Thermal printers use heat to transfer ink, dye, or wax onto another surface, so often the consumables needed differ from that of a standard dot-matrix or laser printer.
Are there Different Types of Thermal Printers?
There are two different types of thermal printers, thermal transfer, and direct thermal.
- Direct thermal printers: This type does not use ribbons. Instead, the main consumable you need is a thermographic or thermal paper roll. As this passes over the images on the heated print head, the coating turns black into the letters or images you are printing. If you have a fax machine from the 80s or 90s, it may use this type of printing technology. Often point-of-sale-systems and ATMs will also use this kind of printing.
- Thermal transfer printers: These uses heat sensitive ribbons to transfer images onto paper or labels. Thermal transfer printers are often used for printing labels and information that need to be durable, such as barcodes, clothing tags, identification badges, and so forth. Newer model fax machines may also use thermal transfer ribbons.
Are There Different Types of Thermal Ribbons?
There are different types of thermal ribbons available that use different materials. Your choice may depend on the model of your printer, and your intended use. These include:
- Wax Ribbons: These are usually for printing on rougher paper or materials, or printing need for retaining short-term only. Pure wax ribbons are soft, so the printing can blend or combine better with a rough surface, but this also means the printing is more susceptible to scratching or damage.
- Resin Ribbons: These are very durable and are often used in situations where the printing might be subject to the elements or heavy wear or rubbing. The resulting printing is robust, so it is more often used for any types of printing that needs to last a long time.
- Wax/Resin Ribbons: These are a combination of both materials to give you benefits of the properties of both. They are often for printing on synthetics materials as well as for matt and glossy finishes. The percentage of wax/resin blend may vary; however, the resulting printed product will usually withstand medium length conditions and time frames.
Most printer manufacturers release consumables including paper, ink, and ribbon, for all models and types of printers they manufacture. Panasonic ribbons and paper are available for their fax machines and other types of printing technology. For standard monochrome printers, they are usually black. However, there are color thermal printers that use three or four color processes.
Content provided for informational purposes only. eBay is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Panasonic Corporation.