Printing barcodes is best done with thermal transfer ribbons which offer medium-term print durability. Such ribbons for thermal transfer barcode labels have mixed wax-resin coating and are printed via heat transfer through the print head of thermal printers. The melting temperature of the wax and resin-blended thermal transfer ribbons is somewhere between that of the full wax and full resin ribbons. They have been put to trial extensively with different thermal transfer products including different kinds of substrates and have been found to create images of high clarity and sharpness.
Different kinds of usage
When printing barcodes, three specific situations are crucial – the barcode application your labels will be used for; the intended lifespan of your barcode labels; and the type of environment your barcode labels will be exposed to. Although you can create your barcode labels using conventional printers such as inkjet, dot matrix or laser printers, they all have limitations that will impact the utility of the barcode labels you print on them. On the other hand, use of thermal technology has proven advantages in thermal transfer barcode labels printing.
Non-thermal transfer printing is not suitable
Although you can use the convenient and economical direct thermal printers for printing your labels, there are limitations in this process. In direct thermal printing it is the substrate which is coated with chemical solvents that produce the print output when exposed to heat via the print heads. The print output does have good clarity and sharpness but it will only be useful for environments where it will not be exposed to sunlight for long periods, and neither to heat or abrasion. Hence, it will be useful for a short shelf life application, such as shipping and retail shop labeling.
Thermal transfer printing is the best option
The most durable barcode labels available are thermal transfer barcode labels, as they are made to withstand heat humidity and abrasion, which makes them long lasting and durable. As already mentioned earlier, there are also different levels of durability in thermal transfer printing. The wax coated ribbons meant for small duration applications, ribbons coated with wax-resin blend for medium duration and full resin coated ribbons for long duration applications.
