What is the difference between ribbon and carbon ribbon?
Carbon ribbon is a specialized consumable for barcode printers, which is covered with a layer of carbon powder. During printing, the hot carbon powder is transferred from the printed head to the adhesive label. This process is called thermal transfer printing, also known as carbon ribbon or thermal transfer ribbon, and is suitable for barcode printers. Carbon ribbon is a high-tech professional coating material, and its quality is not only related to the quality of printers, including clarity, adhesion, and durability, but also closely related to the service life of equipment, especially expensive print heads. According to different material compositions, carbon ribbons can be divided into wax based carbon ribbons, resin based carbon ribbons, and mixed based carbon ribbons.
Ribbon is also a type of printing consumable. From the earliest mechanical impact type English printers to later computer needle printers, ribbon was used. The working principle of the ribbon is to use the dot matrix collision needle inside the head of the needle printer or the letter collision piece in the English typewriter to collide with the printing ribbon, producing a printing effect on the printing paper.
The composition of the ribbon is very simple, which is made by weaving nylon thread as the raw material and soaking and dyeing it with ink. A good ribbon should have a durable base, high elasticity, and be able to print for a long time without pilling, continuous stitching, or loose edges. Its performance is mainly characterized by a flat surface with no protruding fiber knots, uniform and tight warp and weft density organization, straight and uniform cutting edges, and no burning phenomenon. Touched by hand: The base is soft and delicate, with a smooth feeling. Good elasticity and recovery when pulled. Poor quality ribbon base has severe wire breakage and pulling, feels hard when touched, uneven cutting edges, severe edge burning, low elasticity when pulled, poor recovery, often gets stuck during printing, and is prone to lotus leaf edges, leading to needle blockage, tape jamming, and other phenomena.
Choose carbon ribbon printing labels or thermal printing labels?
Carbon ribbon printing is the process of printing content onto labels using carbon ribbon. The advantage is that it is waterproof, scratch resistant, and the handwriting is very clear. However, the cost of printing labels with carbon tape is relatively high. Secondly, due to the need for carbon ribbon printing, its printing speed is relatively slow.
Thermal printing is the process of printing content onto labels through heating. The advantages are low cost, fast printing speed, and very clear handwriting. However, thermal printed labels have poor waterproof performance and are easily affected by humid environments. Secondly, its scratch resistance is not as good as carbon tape printed labels.
So, which type of printing label should I choose? Actually, it mainly depends on your needs. If you need to keep labels for a long time or place them in a humid environment, carbon tape printing labels are more suitable for you. If you need to print a large number of labels quickly or only need to keep them for a short period of time, thermal printing labels are more suitable for you.
How to distinguish the front and back of carbon ribbon?
Look: It's difficult to distinguish the front and back of the carbon ribbon without careful observation. The front side has carbon powder on it, which doesn't look so smooth and has a slight resistance when touched by hand; The reverse side is a glossy film, which looks very bright.
Adhesive: Use one side of a label paper with adhesive to stick the carbon tape. After sticking, remove it and check. The side with black carbon powder on it is the opposite side.
Carbon ribbon can be divided into outer carbon and inner carbon based on the carbon coating surface. The carbon coating surface outside the roll is called outer carbon, and the carbon coating surface inside the roll is called inner carbon. The correct installation of the barcode printer should face the printer medium (such as copperplate paper, label paper, matte silver dragon, etc.) on the front of the carbon ribbon.
