What is thermal paper?

First, let’s understand the basic definition of thermal paper. In short, thermal paper is a heat-resistant material made of special chemicals that can print images and text through thermal printing technology. This technology mainly transmits content to the photosensitive layer on the paper through a thermal head and roller.

Compared with ordinary ink printers, thermal paper has many advantages, such as fast speed, high efficiency, power saving, compactness, quietness, and easy maintenance. At the same time, reliability is greatly improved because there are no nozzles or moving parts. Therefore, it is widely used in many special industries.

How thermal paper works

How to realize the function of thermal paper? Here we need to explain the three key factors in the printing process: thermal head, ribbon and photosensitive layer. Among them, the thermal head is the core part. It is composed of hundreds of tiny thermal chips. Each chip can generate high temperature to heat the photosensitive layer on the paper. When the printer transmits data, electric current passes through these chips and heats them, activating the photosensitive layer to create a chemical reaction that forms images and text.

The ribbon is a thin film used to transmit pigments and is installed between the thermal head and the photosensitive layer. When the thermal head is heated, the pigment in the ribbon will melt, thereby transferring the pigment to the photosensitive layer to form the desired image and text.

Finally, the photosensitive layer is a special coating of chemicals that changes its color or brightness. When the photosensitive layer is heated by the thermal head, it undergoes a chemical reaction to create a visible image.

In general, thermal paper uses the interaction of thermal head, ribbon and photosensitive layer to print high-quality images and text. Its working principle seems simple, but this technology plays a very important role in actual production. Important and widely used in retail, logistics, medical and other industries.