Resin vs. Wax - Choosing the Right Ribbon

Ribbons used for Thermal Transfer printing are made with wax, wax/resin or resin formulas that are coated on one side of a thin polyester carrier. When heat is applied from the print head, it makes the ink release from the backing and stick to a label. 

These three categories cover the basic needs of printing on paper, mid-range synthetics and glossy, hard films such as polyester. Due to the wide range of label and tag materials, the extensive number of printers being used, and the endless types of applications to which labels are subjected, ribbon manufacturers have developed a broad selection of formulas within each category to fit specific needs.   

Thermal Ribbons are primarily black and offer good print contrast for barcode printing and scanning. Colors are also available from a few select manufacturers and come the three categories, in a wide range of spot (PMS-like) colors.  There are only a few printers that can actually print more than one color at a time so single colors are typically used for graphics only.

To get the ribbon ink to release from its carrier, you will need to adjust both the printhead pressure and energy settings. Resin ribbons that are needed to prints on smooth, hard surfaces like polyester, need more heat or energy to release than wax based formulas. Since printers have different energy controls, you will have to test your settings.

Finding the right ribbon can be time consuming and confusing. Electronic Imaging makes the selection process easy. As label specialists, we do our own R&D to assure label and ribbon compatibility. We not only test for print quality and durability, but also subject printed labels to all sorts of tough conditions including temperature extremes and chemicals.

Coated Side Out or Coated Side In

Depending on how your label printer is engineered, printing ribbons are wound either coated side out (CSO) or coated side in (CSI). There is no price difference in whether ribbons are wound face in or face out – only the roll width and length effect the cost and you will see this vary from printer model to model.

The face of the ribbon MUST ALWAYS touch the face of the label and not the printhead. Otherwise the ink will melt onto the printhead, creating a mess and potentially damaging it. If you are unsure how your ribbon is wound, an easy trick to figure out which is the ink side is to press a piece of scotch tape against the ribbon. Black ink will transfer to the adhesive from the inked side of the ribbon.
 

Ribbon Formats

Thermal transfer ribbons are engineered to fit specific printers and come in a wide selection of widths and lengths.  They also come on different sized cores to fit mini, desktop and industrial models. There are some general characteristics however that let you use ribbons that are more typically stocked and are apt to be less expensive. 

• Full-size Zebra printers use 300 Meter and 450 Meter (M) ribbons wound Coated Side Out (CSO) on 1” cores. The 300M length is more popular and readily available, but people printing large volumes of labels often prefer the larger rolls since they do not require changing ribbons as often. 
   
• Most ribbons for Datamax printers are wound Coated Side In (CSI) and typically come in 360M length.  Ribbons for Sato are also wound CSI but are sold in 210 or 410 meter lengths. Many times a Datamax ribbon of 360 meters will fit Sato printers or vice versa – Sato ribbons will fit Datamax printers.
   
• Ribbons for Zebra Desktop printers come on 1/2” cores in 91 or 74 meter lengths. If you can’t find a 91 meter ribbon in the formula you want, you may have better luck looking for a newer 74 meter ribbon. Be sure to ask for rolls with notches for fit your printer - Manufacturers are starting to put their ribbons on “universal” cores with notches to fit both old and new printer models but you will need to ask.

What Size Ribbon Do You Buy?

To avoid uneven printhead wear, you need a ribbon with a width equal to or greater than the label or tag width. As we mentioned before, ribbon lengths can be specific to each printer.

Ribbon manufactures talk about printing ribbons in both metric measurements and inches or feet. For Example:  2.36” x 300 Meters or 984 feet. This chart will help you calculate how much ribbon you get on a roll. If you know how many feet of ribbon is in a roll, you can then compare that to the number of labels on a roll and then make sure you are buying a suitable amount of printing ribbons.
 

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What does the term “printhead saver” mean?

Ribbon manufacturers have designed certain ribbon formulas to extend the printhead life. Their features include low printhead energy requirements to transfer the ribbon, along with anti-sticking and anti-static backcoatings to eliminate printhead overheating, the primary cause of printhead failure.  

Ideally, the lower the temperature where you can achieve good print results, the longer the life of the printhead.  Sometimes in lowering the temperature however, the speed has to also be reduced. The best formulas allow you to maintain speed with low energy / low temperatures.

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