Industrial solutions for
product marking & coding
Industrial solutions for
product marking & coding
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in business & industry

Thermal transfer printing

What is thermal transfer printing?

Thermal transfer printing (also called thermal transfer overprinting or TTO) is a printing technique in which the ink from thermal ribbon printer foils is transferred or melted onto a printing substrate (e.g. paper, film) by means of heat.

What are the advantages of thermal transfer printing?

Thermal transfer printing has several advantages, including the following:

  • It provides high-quality printing results. Enhanced scannability and readability are guaranteed with this printing method.
  • It provides resistant printing that can withstand moisture, water, chemicals and extreme temperatures. This makes thermal transfer printing the perfect choice for those who look for extra-durable printing results.
  • It can be used to print on several media, including paper, plastic/film, textiles or metal.
  • In the long term, thermal transfer printing has low maintenance costs compared to other printing methods like inkjet printing or laser marking.

In order to enjoy these advantages, it is important that the ribbon and the substrate on which it is used are compatible. Otherwise, the printing results are likely to be poor.

Thermal transfer printing vs Direct thermal printing

Thermal transfer printing and direct thermal printing are two types of thermal printing.

Unlike thermal transfer printing, direct thermal printing does not use ribbons or ink. Instead, the printhead heats a previously treated chemical substrate, darkening it in the process.

Although it produces quite good printing results, direct thermal printing does not provide the high-quality printing that thermal transfer printing does. In addition to this, the printing results of direct thermal printing are not as durable as those of thermal transfer printing. However, since ribbons or ink are not necessary, direct thermal printing has lower maintenance costs than thermal transfer printing.

Thermal transfer printing and labeling

Because of its high-quality and durable printing results, thermal transfer printing is often used to print labels. In this case, a so-called thermal transfer printer is used to print the labels.

Applications

Learn more about our marking solutions practically implemented at the customer's site

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Weber Marking Systems GmbH

Maarweg 33
53619 Rheinbreitbach
Germany