What is the technical principle of thermal printer

The technical principle of thermal printer mainly involves the use of thermal technology for printing. Here's a detailed explanation:

1. Basic working principle

Thermal printers work by installing a semiconductor heating element on the print head. When the print head is heated and in contact with the thermal printing paper, the desired pattern can be printed. This principle is similar to that of a thermal fax machine, which uses heat to produce a chemical reaction on a specific material to generate an image or text.

Second, chemical reaction process

Material characteristics: The surface of the thermal printing paper is coated with a special thermal coating, which will undergo a chemical reaction and change color after heat. This property is similar to photosensitive film, but the difference is that it is triggered by heat rather than light.

Temperature control: This chemical reaction is carried out under certain temperature conditions. High temperatures speed up the chemical reaction. Specifically, when the temperature is below 60 ° C, the thermal coating on the paper needs to go through a considerable time, even up to several years, to gradually change color; When the temperature reaches 200 ° C, the reaction is completed rapidly in a few microseconds.

Third, the graphics generation process

Heating lattice: The thermal printer selectively heats the thermal paper at a certain location. This heating is provided by a small electronic heater on the print head that is in contact with the heat-sensitive material. The heater is usually arranged in the form of square dots or strips and is logically controlled by the printer.

Pattern formation: When the heater is driven, a pattern corresponding to the heating element is generated on the thermal paper. These graphics consist of a series of hot spots to form the desired text, image or bar code.

Paper feed control: The same logic circuit that controls the heating element also controls the paper feed mechanism, ensuring that the paper can move in a predetermined path and print a complete pattern on the entire label or paper.

4. Technology application and classification

Application: Thermal printing technology was first used in fax machines, and is now widely used in POS terminal systems, banking systems, medical instruments, logistics label printing, retail receipt printing and other fields.

Classification: According to the arrangement of Thermal components, Thermal printers can be divided into two types: thermal Line Dot System (Thermal Line Dot System) and Thermal Serial Dot System. Line thermal printers usually have higher printing speed and efficiency, and are suitable for fast printing of large amounts of data.

To sum up, the technical principle of the thermal printer is to heat a special coating on the thermal paper to make it undergo a chemical reaction and change color, so as to generate the required graphics or text. This technology has the advantages of fast speed, low noise and clear printing, and has been widely used in many fields.