Direct Thermal Labels
Direct thermal transfer printing uses chemically treated, heat-sensitive media that blackens when it passes under the thermal printhead. Vivid Data Group has a wide variety of Direct Thermal material through our numerous distributors or we can help get you on track for printing your own pre-printed labels.
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Vivid Data Group is your source for Honeywell Direct Thermal labels. We offer a wide variety of blank label sizes and materials. Contact us to learn more.
What Are Direct Thermal Printed Labels?
Because they print without a ribbon, direct thermal printers are noted for their simplicity. Direct thermal printed labels typically have a considerable shelf life but are not well suited for environments that expose them to heat, long periods of direct sunlight, or abrasion. Direct thermal printers have no ink, toner, or ribbon.
If the label is overexposed to heat, light, or other catalysts, the material will darken and make the text or barcode 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 barcode printing applications including shipping labels, patient and visitor identification, receipts, and ticket printing.
Advantages of Direct Thermal
- Direct thermal printing produces sharp print quality with good scannability.
- Direct thermal is ideal for applications requiring only a short shelf life — meaning the label image does not need to last very long. Shipping labels and receipts are ideal applications, for instance, while product labels are not.
- Direct thermal printers are simple to operate compared to most other print technologies because there is no ink, toner or ribbon to monitor or replenish.
- With no supplies to replace other than the material to be printed, long-term maintenance costs remain low.
- Direct thermal enables batch or single label printing with virtually no waste.
- With recyclable materials available, direct thermal printers offer low environmental impact
- Direct thermal printers are typically built more durably than dot matrix or laser printers, allowing reliable operation in industrial as well as office applications.
Limitations of Direct Thermal Printing
- Direct thermal printing is extremely sensitive to environmental conditions such as heat and light (fluorescent and/or direct sunlight).
- Direct thermal paper remains chemically active after printing. Because of this, thermal labels, tags, or ticket stock are often top coated to resist UV light exposure, chemicals, and abrasion.
Vivid Data Group offers several Thermal Image Printers from SATO, Zebra, and TSC. We can make sure that your thermal transfer label needs are complemented by the best printer for those labels.
