The use of thermal printing methods has many benefits. With excellent print resolution, accurate ink placement, and an ability to print within very tight tolerances, these printers are widely used in many industries. There are two types of thermal printers: direct thermal printers and thermal transfer printers. Like any device, there are some common problems you are bound to face with both of these printers. Here’s what you may want to prepare for, and how you can solve these problems.

Setup-Related Quality Issues

Although thermal transfer printers are known for exceptional print resolution, the quality of the print can be affected by several factors. Quality can be reduced due to an incorrect setting in the system, barcode orientation, or machine speed. It’s usually a quick and easy fix for these quality issues, like rotating your barcodes so that they come out of your printer in an alternate orientation, or slowing the printer speed down in the machine settings.

Dirty Printing Ribbons

If you are using a thermal transfer printer, it uses the thermal ribbon to transfer the heat. This ribbon is prone to get dirty due to the dust particles that it attracts. As a result, these dust particles go right into the image for printing and affects the barcodes clarity. For this reason, it is important that you keep the printer out of dusty areas and ensure it is cleaned periodically.

Temperature Adjustment

The print head temperature must be kept balanced with print speed. This does not mean that a higher temperature should be maintained for higher print speed or vice versa. For more help, call your printer service provider (or give us a shout at Jet Marking Systems and our team will help you troubleshoot).

Burned out Print Head Pixel

It can be difficult to identify a burnt out printhead pixel, especially if you have your barcodes oriented optimally. Print heads with burnt out pixels need to be replaced. To identify such flaws, try adding a horizontal signal strip above or below the barcode. This allows you to easily detect burned out pixels if they arise.

Cold Temperature

A direct thermal printer is able to tolerate temperatures a little colder than thermal transfer printers. A thermal transfer printer can have print quality problems due to its environment’s temperature, especially in conditions where temperatures fall below 5 degrees Celsius.

If you face any other problems apart from those mentioned above, then it’s important to get your printer repaired by a professional printer service provider. If you are looking to buy a direct thermal or thermal transfer printer, or to have your printers serviced, get in touch with our knowledgeable team at Jet Marking Systems.

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