Direct Thermal Printing 

Direct Thermal barcode printers print on to heat sensitive paper, a printer ribbon is therefore not required. Note that printing may fade if exposed to other heat sources such as direct sunlight or heating appliances. Direct thermal labels should not be used for long-term storage. 

Thermal Transfer Printing 

Thermal transfer barcode printers use the same basic technology as direct thermal printers, but with the elimination of chemically-coated media material in favour of non-sensitised labels and a durable, polyester ribbon film coated with a dry thermal transfer ink. Thermal transfer labels are suitable for long-term storage. 

Labels and Media 

Speciality ribbons and media supplies encompass a wide variety of paper and synthetic materials, from tear-proof Tyvek to UL Recognised polyester and scratch resistant Ultimate labels. Manufacturers' own supplies, when combined with the superb printing capabilities of their printers, produce consistently durable labels, tags and tickets for all your marking and tracking needs. 

Mobile Printers

Mobile printers provide on-the-spot label or receipt printing. Mobile printers are usually battery-powered and offer wireless connectivity. 

Receipt Printers

Receipt printers print on thermal paper. They do not print labels. Many direct thermal printers can print either labels or receipts.

What is RFID? 

RFID stands for Radio Frequency IDentification. It is an automatic identification technology whereby digital data encoded in an RFID tag or “smart label” is captured by a reader using radio waves. Put simply, RFID is similar to bar code technology but uses radio waves to capture data from labels (tags), rather than optically scanning the bar codes on a label. RFID does not require the tag or label to be seen to read its stored data. Smartlabels include an RFiD tag and an RFiD printer will both program the tag and print the label. A barcode may also be printed on a smartlabel of course..