Premium 100 Sheets A4 Dye Sublimation Heat Transfer Paper (ie T-Shirt Transfers Print Iron on Sheet) for Epson, HP, Canon, Ricoh, SawGrass Inkjet Printers $24.00 $ 24. 00 Get it as soon as Wed, Apr 24. Thermal wax transfer: This type of printer uses a thermal transfer ribbon that contains wax-based ink. Heat is applied to the ribbon using a thermal printhead that melts the ink transferring it to the paper where it is permanent after it cools. A typical thermal transfer ribbon consists of three layers: the base material, the heat melting ink.
Thermal-transfer printing
Thermal-transfer printing is a digital printing method in which material is applied to paper (or some other material) by melting a coating of ribbon so that it stays glued to the material on which the print is applied. It contrasts with direct thermal printing, where no ribbon is present in the process. Thermal transfer is preferred over direct thermal printing on surfaces that are heat-sensitive or when higher durability of printed matter (especially against heat) is desired. Thermal transfer is a popular print process particularly used for the printing of identification labels. It is the most widely used printing process in the world for the printing of high-quality barcodes. Printers like label makers can laminate the print for added durability. Thermal transfer printing was invented by SATO corporation. The world's first thermal-transfer label printer SATO M-2311 was produced in 1981.[1]
Thermal-transfer printing process[edit]Thermal-transfer printing is done by melting wax within the print heads of a specialized printer. The thermal-transfer print process utilises three main components: a non-movable print head, a carbon ribbon (the ink) and a substrate to be printed, which would typically be paper, synthetics, card or textile materials. These three components effectively form a sandwich with the ribbon in the middle. A thermally compliant print head, in combination with the electrical properties of the ribbon and the correct rheological properties of the ribbon ink are all essential in producing a high-quality printed image. Print heads are available in 203 dpi, 300 dpi and 600 dpi resolution options. Each dot is addressed independently, and when a dot is electronically addressed, it immediately heats up to a pre-set (adjustable) temperature. The heated element immediately melts the wax- or resin-based ink on the side of the ribbon film facing the substrate, and this process, in combination with the constant pressure being applied by the print-head locking mechanism immediately transfers it onto the substrate. When a dot 'turns off', that element of the print head immediately cools down, and that part of the ribbon thereby stops melting/printing. As the substrate comes out of the printer, it is completely dry and can be used immediately. Carbon ribbons are on rolls and are fitted onto a spindle or reel holder within the printer. The used ribbon is rewound by a take-up spindle, forming a roll of 'used' ribbon. It is termed a 'one-trip' ribbon because once it has been rewound, the used roll is discarded and replaced with a new one. If one were to hold a strip of used carbon ribbon up to the light, one would see an exact negative of the images that have been printed. The main benefit of using a one-trip thermal transfer ribbon is that providing the correct settings are applied prior to printing, a 100% density of printed image is guaranteed, in contrast to a pre-inked ribbon on a dot-matrix impact printer ribbon, which gradually fades with usage. Variants[edit]Color thermal printers[edit]Thermal-printing technology can be used to produce color images by adhering a wax-based ink onto paper. As the paper and ribbon travel in unison beneath the thermal print head, the wax-based ink from the transfer ribbon melts onto the paper. When cooled, the wax is permanently adhered to the paper. This type of thermal printer uses a like-sized panel of ribbon for each page to be printed, regardless of the contents of the page. Monochrome printers have a black panel for each page to be printed, while color printers have either three (CMY) or four (CMYK) colored panels for each page. Unlike dye-sublimation printers, these printers cannot vary the dot intensity, which means that images must be dithered. Although acceptable in quality, the printouts from these printers cannot compare with modern inkjet printers and color laser printers. Currently, this type of printer is rarely used for full-page printing, but is now employed for industrial label printing due to its waterfastness and speed. These printers are considered highly reliable due to their small number of moving parts. Printouts from color thermal printers using wax are sensitive to abrasion, as the wax ink can be scraped, rubbed off, or smeared. However, wax-resin compounds and full resins can be used on materials such as polypropylene or polyester in order to increase durability. Tektronix/Xerox solid-ink printers[edit]So-called 'solid ink' or 'phaser' printers were developed by Tektronix and later by Xerox (who acquired Tektronix's printer division). Printers like the Xerox Phaser 8400 uses 1 cubic inch (16 cm3) rectangular solid-state ink blocks (similar in consistency to candle wax), which are loaded into a system similar to a stapler magazine in the top of the printer. The ink blocks are melted, and the ink is transferred onto a rotating oil-coated print drum using a piezo inkjet head. The paper then passes over the print drum, at which time the image is transferred, or transfixed, to the page. This system is similar to water-based inkjets, provided that the ink has low viscosity at the jetting temperature 60 °C (140 °F). Printout properties are similar to those mentioned above, although these printers can be configured to produce extremely high-quality results and are far more economical, as they only use the ink needed for the printout, rather than an entire ribbon panel. Costs of upkeep and ink are comparable to color laser printers, while 'standby' power usage can be very high, about 200 W. ALPS MicroDry printers[edit]MicroDry is a computer printing system developed by the ALPS corporation of Japan. It is a wax/resin-transfer system using individual colored thermal ribbon cartridges and can print in process color using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black cartridges, as well as such spot-color cartridges as white, metallic silver, and metallic gold, on a wide variety of paper and transparency stock. Certain MicroDry printers can also operate in dye-sublimation mode, using special cartridges and paper. Uses[edit]Usage of TT printers in industry includes: Vesa to din rail.
Barcode printers typically come in fixed sizes of 4, 6 or 8 inches (100, 150 or 200 mm) wide. Although a number of manufacturers have made differing sizes in the past, most have now standardised on these sizes. The main application for these printers is to produce barcode labels for product and shipping identification. References[edit]
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For almost two years I've been looking for a printable heat transfer material that I can really get behind! Finally..finally I've found something that not only prints vibrantly, cuts well on Silhouette, transfers easily and washes without fading or bleeding!
This gem of a product is JetPro Soft Stretch Inkjet Paper Lights from ProWorld! When using the transfer sheets with Silhouette CAMEO or Portrait you're basically going to do a mirrored Print and Cut - just printing on the inkjet paper rather than card stock. Alright let's walk through this Silhouette tutorial so you can see how awesome and easy this printable heat transfer material really is! Open up Silhouette Studio and create or open your design, setting it up as a Print and Cut. I have a whole lot of beginner Silhouette CAMEO tutorials on Print and Cut so I'm not going to get into too much details here, but basically: change the page size to your Current Printers, turn on the print borders, make sure you are only cutting the edge of the design and turn on the registration marks. The one thing you want to do differently than a regular print and cut is mirror your design. This is because you will be flipping the image onto your surface like heat transfer vinyl. To mirror the design select it > right click > flip horizontally. Now you're ready to print. Place a piece of the JetPro Soft Stretch Inkjet Paper into your inkjet printer oriented so the image will be printed on the correct side. The grided side is the backing. Once printed, place the design onto your Silhouette cutting mat and load it into the machine. In Silhouette Studio you will need to adjust the settings somewhat. Ensure your design is set to 'Cut Edge' then pick 'Printable Heat Transfer Material' from the material list in the Cut Settings window. Adjust the blade depth to a 6 in the software and on the actual blade - so it will cut through both the printed layer and the backing. Do a test cut first..to make sure it cuts through both layers! Send the design to cut. Once cut with the Silhouette CAMEO or Portrait, you should be able to easily weed away the excess material leaving the designs on your mat. Carefully remove the designs from the mat. Using your heat press or iron set at 375 degrees, place the design face down onto the surface. In this case I used a onesie. ![]() Here's a close up so you can see how it's actually in the fabric rather than laying on top like HTV. I mean how cute is this little watermelon onesie? Can you imaging cutting and applying heat transfer vinyl for something like this? It would take forever! I'm so excited with how this turned out I can't wait to use this JetPro Soft Stretch Inkjet Paper from ProWorld again! And I'm even more excited that I no longer have to answer emails and questions about 'What's your favorite Printable Heat Transfer HTV?' with 'I have yet to find one I really love..' ![]() Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!
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