Thermal Transfer Ribbons

What are thermal transfer ribbons used for?

Thermal transfer ribbons are used for printing with thermal transfer (TT) printers and labels. There are three types of ribbons: wax, premium wax, wax/resin, premium wax/resin, and premium resin.

There are also two wind directions of the ink: coated side-in (CSI) and coated side-out (CSO). The ribbon rolls are wound on 1″ core inner diameter (I.D.) for most industrial-grade printers and 0.5″ core are also available.
Our ribbons can be used to print labels for applications in retail, horticulture, manufacturing, warehouse, medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Our Wax ribbons provide an economical solution for printing on paper for everyday labeling such as general carton labeling, retail price labeling, tracking labels, license plate labels, and more. The Wax/Resin ribbons are durable and can be used with both paper and polypropylene labels, your perfect choice for shelf labels, warning labels, and pharmacy labels. Resin ribbon are great for applications involving special or extreme conditions, use ribbons with polyester labels to create electronic component labels, tamper-evident labels, drum labels, and outdoor labels. Some resin ribbon formulations also work with paper, polypropylene, and polyester labels. Always check your printer specifications and label materials to determine the best thermal transfer ribbon for your needs.

How does thermal transfer work?

The ink of the thermal transfer ribbons acts as a pigment to mark the label material. The ribbon is placed between the printhead and the label material being printed; when the printhead is heated, melting the pigment and fused to the thermal transfer label with the content being printed.

Automated Systems carries an assortment of Wax ribbons, Wax/resin ribbons, and Resin ribbons for TSC, Datamax™, Zebra®, Eltron®, Intermec®, Toshiba TEC, and many Other Brands.

Don’t find what you need? Contact us about any questions or special orders.