Thermal transfer printing is a digital printing method in which the material is applied to paper (or other material) by melting the tape layer so that it sticks to the material used for printing. This contrasts with direct thermal printing, where there is no tape in the process.
Thermal transfer is preferred over thermal printing directly on heat sensitive surfaces or when higher molding resistance (especially to heat) is desired. Thermal transfer is a popular printing process that is primarily used for printing identification labels. It is the most widely used printing process in the world for high quality barcode printing. Printers such as label makers can laminate the mold to increase endurance.
Thermal transfer printing is created by SATO companies. The world's first thermal transfer label printer SATO M-2311 was produced in 1981.
Video Thermal-transfer printing
Proses pencetakan transfer thermal
Thermal transfer printing is done by melting the wax inside the printhead from a special printer. The thermal transfer molding process uses three main components: an immovable print head, a carbon band (ink) and a substrate to be printed, which is usually paper, synthetic, card or textile material. These three components effectively form a sandwich with a ribbon in the middle. The appropriate thermal print head, in combination with the electrical properties of the ribbon and the correct rheological properties of the ink ribbon are all essential in producing high quality printed images.
The printheads are available in the resolution options of 203 dpi, 300 dpi and 600 dpi. Each point is addressed independently, and when a point is addressed electronically, it immediately warms to a predetermined temperature (adjustable). The heated element immediately melts the wax or resin based on the side of the tape film facing the substrate, and this process, in combination with the constant pressure applied by the printhead locking mechanism, immediately transfers it to the substrate. When a point "dies", the printhead element immediately cools, and the tape part stops melting/printing. When the substrate exits the printer, the printer is completely dry and can be used immediately.
The carbon band is in the coil and fitted to the spindle or roll holder inside the printer. The tape used is rewritten by a take-up spindle, forming a "used" tape roll. Called as the "one trip" ribbon because once played back, the reels used are discarded and replaced with new ones. If someone holds a strip of spent carbon tape up to the light, someone will see the exact same negative image that has been printed. The main benefit of using a one-way thermal transfer tape is that providing the correct settings applied before printing, 100% density of the printed image is guaranteed, unlike the pre-ink ribbon on the dot-matrix impact printer band, which gradually fades with usage.
Maps Thermal-transfer printing
Variant
Color thermal printer
Thermal printing technology can be used to produce color images by embracing wax based inks on paper. As paper and ribbon move simultaneously under the thermal print head, the wax-based ink from the transfer ribbon melts onto the paper. When cooled, the wax is permanently attached to the paper. This type of thermal printer uses a similar-sized ribbon panel for each page to print, regardless of page content. The monochrome printer has a black panel for each page to print, while the color printer has three colored panels (CMY) or four (CMYK) for each page. Unlike dye-sublimation printers, these printers can not vary the point intensity, which means that the image should be off guard. Although acceptable in quality, the prints from this printer can not be compared to modern inkjet printers and color laser printers. Currently, this type of printer is rarely used for full page printing, but is now used for industrial label printing because of its water resistance and speed. This printer is considered very reliable because of the number of spare parts moving a little. Prints from color thermal printers use wax sensitive to abrasion, because the wax ink can be scraped, polished, or smeared. However, full resin-wax and resin compounds may be used in materials such as polypropylene or polyester to increase endurance.
Tektronix/Xerox solid ink printer
Printers called "solid ink" or "phaser" were developed by Tektronix and later by Xerox (which acquired the Tektronix printer division). Printers such as the Xerox Phaser 8400 use a rectangular (16Ã, cm 3 ) rectangle block of solid-state ink (similar in consistency to wax), which is loaded into a system similar to a stapler magazine in part over the printer. The ink block is melted, and the ink is transferred to an oil-coated drum with a piezo inkjet head. The paper then passes through the drum, when the image is moved, or glued, to the page. The system is similar to a water-based inkjet, provided that the ink has a low viscosity at a flowing temperature of 60 ° C (140 ° F). The print properties are similar to those mentioned above, although these printers can be configured to produce very high-quality results and are much more economical, since they only use the ink required for the printout, rather than the entire ribbon panel. Maintenance and ink costs are comparable to color laser printers, while the use of "standby" power can be very high, around 200 W
ALPS MicroDry printers
MicroDry is a computer printing system developed by Japanese ALPS company. It is a wax/resin transfer system that uses individual colored tape cartridges and can print in process colors using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black cartridges, as well as colored cartridges such as white, metallic silver and metallic gold, on a wide variety of paper stocks and transparency. Certain MicroDry printers can also operate in a sublimation-dye mode, using special cartridges and papers.
Usage
Use of TT printers in industry include:
- Barcode labels (because labels printed with thermal printers are less likely to last) and mark clothing labels (shirt size etc.).
- Printer labels with plastic, paper, and metal labels.
Barcode printers are usually fixed size 4, 6 or 8 inches (100, 150 or 200 mm). Although a number of manufacturers have made different sizes in the past, most are now standardized on this size. The main application for this printer is to produce barcode labels for product identification and delivery.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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