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If you are going to use direct thermal labels, it is important to understand both the strengths and weaknesses of the direct thermal printing process. Whereas many printing methods are good for general purpose labelling, the thermal process has some unique advantages and some important limitations that tend to define its most effective role.
Direct thermal printing produces thermal labels by applying a superheated printhead to specially treated paper or label stock. The paper reacts to the heat by blackening. This blackening from the print head takes over the traditional role of ink in the labelling process. The burning forms the label’s image.
There are two problems worth mentioning with respect to direct thermal printing. First, the labels themselves tend to have a short lifespan. Thermal labels are susceptible to sunlight and brightness. The chemicals that allowed the printhead to create a burn will react with other heat sources, resulting in over-darkened thermal labels.
Additionally, the overall print quality of direct thermal systems is somewhat limited. Higher end systems may give you a greater level of clarity, but the average direct thermal printer will turn out thermal labels that contain legible barcodes but that might struggle with imagery that is more detailed.
To its advantage, the thermal system of printing does a fine job of producing readable labels fast and inexpensively. Those two traits have kept thermal labels alive.
Additionally, it is possible to compensate for the short lifespan of thermal labels by using them in non-prolonged situations. Using a thermal system to produce shipping labels, for instance, makes a great deal of sense.
Direct thermal printing and the resultant thermal labels are a good way of handling some tasks, as long as one is familiar with (and able to work around) the method’s inherent limitations.
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