Thermal Paper Overview



Before getting into the business, EasyPaperRolls.com did our research in order to offer you a concise background on Thermal Paper Rolls:

Appleton Papers developed the first thermal paper rolls in 1965. The technology did not become truly marketable until Texas Instruments developed the Silent 700 data terminal in 1969. This device used thermal roll technology to revolutionize printing. As the name implies, the new system was marketed as a silent alternative to the rather noisy impact printers that were widely used during that time.

One company which advanced the thermal paper rolls technology in the 1980s and 1990s was the NCR Corporation, primarily with the release of 2 1/4 Thermal Paper Rolls. With the introduction of new thermal roll applications, they improved the feasibility by providing a wide variety of low cost thermal paper roll printers. These printers were versatile and easy to maintain for manufacturers, retailers, and business applications.

The unique feature of thermal paper rolls is that it uses a thermal printer head to create an image on the thermal paper through a heated print head. One advantage of thermal rolls is they do not require any additional ink or chemicals to print the image. The thermal paper rolls are coated in a chemical dye that changes color when it comes in contact with heat and a particular type of acid.3 1/8 Thermal Paper Rolls are typically immune from these issues due to their wider core.

Thermal paper rolls typically produce an image that is black, red, or blue depending on which type of dye is used by the manufacturer. The rolls are popular in a wide variety of cash register, credit card, bar code machines, and other devices. It is a low cost, low maintenance option which is popular in retail, restaurant, and industrial settings. Verifone Systems created some of the first multi-colored printers and is still a good source of high-quality Verifone Thermal Paper.

Before switching to a thermal paper roll system, you should consider a few of the negatives. First, exposure to heat can destroy the print image by turning the entire roll black. Thermal rolls are thin and susceptible to damage from exposure to sunlight or UV radiation, water, or other chemicals. Scientists have invented different types of chemicals that minimize the impact of these environmental factors, but there is still a chance that you may lose the image contained on the thermal paper rolls.

If your situation requires you to maintain the data on your thermal paper rolls for an extended period of time, then you should insure that they are stored in a climate-controlled facility with minimal temperature fluctuation. Ideally, thermal rolls are best for short term printing needs over long term data retention.

Even though ink and laser printing technologies are taking an ever increasing share of the printing market, there are still enough advantages of thermal paper rolls that make them an economical and low hassle alternative.