Thermal Transfer Printer

A thermal transfer printer, also known as a thermal transfer overprinter (TTO), uses heat to transfer ink from a ribbon onto a surface, producing sharp, durable codes on labels and flexible packaging film. Nexus Australia supplies thermal transfer printers Australia-wide for date coding, batch marking and barcode printing.

Thermal transfer printing (TTP) is a contact printing method that produces durable prints, suiting manufacturing, logistics, healthcare and retail applications. As an industrial thermal transfer printer it is often specified as a thermal transfer label printer for coding label stock, or as a thermal transfer ribbon printer, since the ink is carried on a replaceable thermal transfer ribbon. All of these names describe the same TTO technology.

How it works

A heated printhead presses a thermal transfer ribbon against the surface, melting ink from the ribbon onto the material to form the print.

Substrate

Thermal transfer printing is commonly used on substrates including paper, cardboard, plastics (PET, PVC, HDPE, LDPE), synthetic materials, labels, tags and flexible films. It is also applied to textiles, ribbons and special coatings for product labelling and identification.

Capability

• Batch or lot numbers for traceability.
• Expiry dates for perishable goods and pharmaceutical products.
• Barcodes and QR codes for inventory management and tracking.
• Manufacturing dates for time-sensitive products.
• Serial numbers for product identification and authentication.
• Brand logos and graphics.
• Text and warnings for safety and compliance on consumer goods.
• Variable data for personalised labels and packaging.
• Pricing and product details for retail labelling.
• Data matrix codes for specific industry requirements.

Speed

Thermal transfer printers print at varying speeds to suit different production requirements.

Consumables

Thermal transfer printers use thermal transfer ribbons. Ribbons are available in wax, wax-resin and resin formulations to suit the substrate and printing needs.

Thermal transfer vs continuous inkjet

Thermal transfer printing gives high-resolution, durable prints on flexible film and labels, making it ideal for use-by dates, barcodes and variable data on flow-wrapped and pouched products. For coding directly onto bottles, cans and cartons on a fast-moving line, a continuous inkjet printer is often the better fit. Our team can match the right coding method to your packaging.

Related coding and marking systems

• Continuous inkjet (CIJ) printers
• Thermal inkjet (TIJ) printers
• Laser coding systems
• Valve jet printers
• Large character inkjet printers
• Print and apply labelling