Mechanical Engineering Wiki / Thermal transfer printing
Thermal transfer printing - long-lasting thermal printing process
Thermal transfer printing is a thermal printing process in which printing results are achieved through the punctual application of heat. Alternative names are TTO (thermal transfer overprinter) or thermal transfer printing. The basic principle of thermal transfer printing is easy to explain: There is a thermal print head on which small heating resistors are arranged like on a comb. Accordingly, the thermal print head is often referred to as a thermal comb. In thermal transfer, a color foil is positioned between the object to be printed and the thermal print head. This is provided with special ink layers. The heating elements in the thermal print head are then activated at the points where color is to be transferred from the coated film to the object to be printed. This initiates a melting process on the film so that the ink is released from the film and transferred to the object to be printed. Multi-colored printing results are possible, whereby either several print heads must be used or the individual colors must be applied one after the other.
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What are the advantages of thermal transfer printing?
Thermal transfer printing offers several advantages over other thermal printing processes. The print results from directthermal printing are usually particularly sensitive to light and temperature. This means that they can fade or become completely illegible over time. It is possible to achieve longer-lasting print results by applying a special protective coating to the paper or selecting a special thermal paper, but this is associated with higher costs.
With thermal transfer, the print results are permanent from the outset. In addition, the object to be printed on does not necessarily have to be made of paper. Theoretically, thermal transfer makes it possible to print on many different (3D) objects. This is why thermal transfer is primarily used when, for example, serial numbers are to be applied to certain components that are to be permanently durable. A corresponding thermal transfer printer can also be individually programmed and always produce new results. Thanks to the high resolutions of up to 600 dpi and more, even photos can be printed using thermal transfer. Furthermore, this is a particularly cost-saving printing method because only very small quantities of ribbon are required. One disadvantage, however, is that the printouts remain legible on the thermal transfer ribbon used. This can lead to complications in terms of data protection.
Where is thermal transfer used?
Thermal transfer and thermal transfer printing are widely used today. Just like inkjet or thermal inkjet, thermal transfer is used to individualize bank cards. The process is also used in connection with permanent labels and serial numbers or when printing photographs. In order to make optimum use of the potential versatility of thermal transfer, the corresponding machine equipment is often part of larger industrial robots. This means that three-dimensional objects can also be printed during production.
