| Barcode Printers come in various types, including | | | | over a long period of time. Direct Thermal, on the other |
| general-purpose laser and inkjet printers. Then there | | | | hand, helps in making put-away labels, receipts and |
| are printers that support multiple symbologies. They | | | | other such small variety. |
| are called Thermal bar code label printers. | | | | Ideally, barcode printers can print on labels that are |
| General-purpose laser and inkjet printers cannot | | | | specifically designed for the purpose. However, the |
| directly print barcodes. That is because these basic | | | | printers are also capable of printing on fabrics like |
| printers do not support bar code symbologies and are | | | | polyester. We have printers etching away prints on |
| therefore upgraded to do so. They need to be | | | | headbands and even synthetic materials. Quite |
| programmed to support bar coding, which may entail | | | | contrary to popular perception, barcodes are not only |
| addition of more features and fonts. | | | | black. Barcode printers can print in various colors, but |
| Barcode printers employ two major printing methods, | | | | black is generally preferred because a light color may |
| namely Direct Thermal and Thermal Transfer. Both | | | | end up with insufficient contrast between the bars |
| methods basically involve the same technique to print | | | | resulting in unreadable barcodes. |
| bar codes with difference in the use of ribbon. They | | | | Nowadays, several security features are available to |
| make use of a print-head that applies heat to a | | | | ensure that there is no counterfeit coding by the |
| surface that is pre-marked. Heated ribbon is used to | | | | printers. The latest thermal printers are capable of |
| produce long-lasting images in Thermal Transfer | | | | printing smart labels that contain radio frequency |
| printing, while Direct Thermal does not use ribbon and | | | | identification chips within the label media. These smart |
| instead prints the image directly on the label. In Thermal | | | | features go a long way in plugging any loopholes in |
| Transfer printing, a large number of materials may be | | | | barcode printing and provide a guarantee of |
| used. This generally helps in creating durable images | | | | authentication. |