LABEL PRINTERS AND MATERIALS

When venturing into the market to purchase label printers, one must always bear in mind the different options available. Each brand of label printers uses the same type of labelling materials, such as paper and synthetic polymer materials, however, depending on the printer, they go about printing their respective labels in a different manner. Essentially thermal label printers work by applying heat to printing ribbons which liquefied the ink and transfers it on to the applicable one-sided adhesive label(s). From one printer to the next this process is effectively the same; however, one has the option of utilizing three different types of ribbons when printing labels.

The first type of ribbon that may be used in a thermal transfer printer is wax based. These wax based ribbons may be used on semi-gloss and matte labels. This wax-based type of ribbon is hands-down the most popular type of ribbons used in label printers due to the minimal cost they entail, however, they do have one major drawback. This drawback is that sometimes the labels they produce may become smudged, and therefore, unable to read. Thus, one should always bear this in mind when purchasing a ribbon for their label printers.

When wanting to produce un-smudgeable labels one should purchase a wax-resin based ribbon. Due to their un-smudgeable quality, they tend to be a bit more costly, however, if one needs this quality to be present in their labels, they are well worth the investment. These wax-resin based ribbons are used predominantly on semi-gloss paper and synthetic labels.

The third type, and most costly type of ribbons used in label printers are those that are resin based that may be applied on coated synthetic labels. They maintain such a high-price due to the fact that they are scratch and chemical resistant. Thus, whenever a business wants to ship a package in hazardous environments, these are the best labels to use.