Thermal label printers are used to print shipping labels and address labels. They also have the capability to print on small labels measuring only 0.1 inch in length for tagging electronic components, printed circuit boards, test tubes, and vials.
Some label printers use direct thermal technology to print on heat-sensitive paper. Direct thermal prints usually start fading after six to twelve months, which make them ideal for short duration applications such as printing shipping labels. Other factors that can affect thermal prints include direct exposure to sunlight and chemical vapors.
Other thermal label printers use thermal transfer technology in which heat is used to transfer ink from ribbons onto labels for getting permanent prints. Different grades of ribbons are used in thermal label printers to print on a variety of substrates. Wax ribbons are used to print on matte and semi-gloss paper labels and have average smudge resistance qualities. Resin-based ribbons offer scratch and chemical resistant prints and are used to print on synthetic labels.
Some thermal label printers can print at 400-dpi resolution and use advanced print technology to provide label-to-label image registration with a tolerance limit of xb10.030 inches (.762 mm). Apart from printing on standard paper labels, it can also print on a variety of substrates such as Kapton or ultra smooth polyesters and synthetics. This feature has increased its usage in electronics and healthcare industry. The printer can be connected to a LAN (local area network) for network management without the complexity, space requirements, and vulnerability of external print servers.
Software used in these printers include different applications such as InterDriver for Windows, LabelShop START label design and print package, Printer Network Manager (PNM) for administration of network connected printers, and PrintSet for printer configuration. It also supports different character sets such as Code Page 850, French, German, ISO 256 character, Italian, Kanji/Katakana (optional), Norwegian/Danish, Spanish, Swedish/ Finnish, Swiss, UK, ASCII, and USA ASCII.
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