A Run-Through on Label Printers
L abel printers differ from the ordinary printers as they require special feeding mechanisms for handling fanfold stock, rolled stock etc. They find wide applications such as for retail price marking, supply chain management, for laboratory and blood specimen marking and management of fixed assets. Mechanism of Printing Involved in a Label Printer Impact, laser, and thermal printing mechanisms are used in the label printers. Based on the printing mechanism the label printers are of the following types: o Direct Thermal Label Printers: The direct thermal label printers make use of heat-sensitive paper. The ‘direct thermal labels’ are short-lived and fade over a period of 6 months to 1 year when exposed to direct sunlight, chemical vapor, and heat. The ‘direct thermal labels’ are used as the shipping labels.’ o Thermal Transfer Label Printers: The thermal transfer label printers make use of heat for transferring the ink from the ribbon onto labels for permanent printing.