What is a thermal single tag printer and how does it work?

What is a thermal single tag printer

A thermal single tag printer is a specialized printer designed for printing single tags. It is suitable for printing tags of a few varieties and particularly meets the small-batch and customized printing needs of industries such as clothes, apparel and machinery.

How does a thermal single tag printer work

The core component of a thermal single tag printer is thermal print head, to ensure printing speed and prevent the printed tags from bending, most thermal single tag printers use corner edge thermal print heads(The tags printed by a flat thermal print head will be bend, printing speed of real edge thermal print head is not fast,).

There are two printing methods for thermal printer: direct thermal printing and thermal transfer printing.

• Direct thermal printing uses a thermal printhead that heats the thermal paper directly on contact.
• Thermal transfer printing is conducted by applying a thermal print head to a film-like marking foil for heating specific areas.

Actually, the printing method frequently used by single tag printers is thermal transfer, as items such as clothing tags, price labels, and product certificates require long-term preservation.

Application scenarios of a thermal single tag printer

The application scenarios of single tag printer are extensive., for example:

• Clothes (e.g. hang tags, price cards)
• Food (e.g. product information cards, price cards)
• Transportation (e.g. train tickets, bus tickets, steamer tickets)
• Automotive (e.g. blister cards for spare parts)
• Tourism (e.g. admission tickets)
• Electronics (e.g. blister cards for battery components, smart cards)
• Apparel (e.g. hang tags, decorative labels, brand tags)
• Pharma (e.g. blister cards for pills, dressing material)
• Retail (e.g. price tags)

Advantages of a thermal single tag printer

• Customized Printing: suitable for small-batch and diversified production needs.
• High-Quality Printing: capable of printing high-quality tags, enhancing product quality.
• Ribbon Saving: high-end thermal single tag printers have a function of save thermal transfer ribbon for reducing cost.
• Stable and Reliable: stable tag feeding mechanism, reducing failure rates.

Technical Parameters and Performance Characteristics

Thermal single tag printers typically have the following technical parameters and performance characteristics:

• Print method: direct thermal or thermal transfer.
• Resolution: above 300DPI(dots per inch), suitable for high-quality printing.
• Printing Width: above 2 inches(50.8mm).
• Interfaces: USB interface, RS-232 serial port, ….
• Thermal Transfer Ribbon Types: wax-based, mixed-based, and resin ribbons.
• Printing Speed(Max.): above 4 inches/sec(101.6mm/sec).