What is the difference between thermal paper and regular paper？

2024-07-12

There are a variety of printing paper on the market, but different printing paper has its different uses, the common printing paper is thermal paper and regular paper, next we will explore the differences between the two and their uses.

what does thermal paper mean? how does thermal paper work?

Top coated thermal paper is a specially treated paper, is composed of base paper, thermal coating and protective coating, the thermal coating contains pigments and colour developers, when the thermal ticket roll is heated by the print head of the thermal printer, the pigments in the thermal coating and the colour developers undergo a chemical reaction to form a colour development, which results in the formation of an image or text, and the thermal printer creates an image or text by heating a specific area. Our common cinema tickets, receipts and so on belong to thermal paper till rolls.

what is regular paper? how does regular paper work?

Regular paper is the most common type of paper and is made from wood pulp or other plant fibres without any added chemical coatings and is processed and treated to create a flat, smooth paper surface. The most common types of regular paper we see are A4 paper, which can be used for printing, writing, drawing etc.

Regular paper is made by spraying liquid ink onto the surface of the paper through a nozzle to create the desired image or text or a laser beam creates an electrostatic image on a photoconductor drum, after which toner is adsorbed onto the electrostatic image and then transferred to the paper surface by heat pressure.

why is thermal paper different than regular paper?

The first difference between thermal paper and regular paper is whether there is a chemical coating. Thermal paper uses a thermal coating to undergo a chemical reaction when heated, resulting in a color change. At the same time, it is sensitive to light and heat. It is easy to fade when exposed to light, heat and humidity for a long time, and has a short storage time. At the same time, the difference between the two is also reflected in the printing method. Thermal paper uses a thermal printer to print, creating images through heating and pressure, while regular paper requires ink or laser printers to print. Toner is applied to the paper.

The specific differences between thermal paper and regular paper will be listed below in a table:

Features	Thermal paper	regular paper
Ingredient composition	Coated paper with a heat-sensitive chemical layer	Uncoated paper made from wood pulp or recycled materials
Pringting	Using heat to produce images	Print text/images using ink or toner
printers	Thermal printers	Inkjet printers/laser printers/copiers/dot matrix printers
Using	Receipts, labels, etc.	Books, books, general printed matter
Durability	Images fade over time, sensitive to heat and light	Long-lasting and less affected by environmental factors
Scratch/tear resistant	Easily scratched or torn, printed content may peel off	More resistant to scratches and tears
Costs	More expensive due to coating	Usually cheaper
Quality of the picture	Produces clear, sharp images	Depends on printer and ink/toner quality
Print speed	Faster printing speeds	Slower printing speed
Storage conditions	Needs to be stored away from heat and light	Standard storage conditions

Can you use regular paper in a thermal printer?

You can't use regular paper in a thermal printer. Thermal printers require specialised receipt printing paper because this paper has a special thermal coating that reacts chemically when heated to form images or text. Regular paper does not have this coating and cannot be printed on in a thermal printer.

Can you print on thermal paper using normal printer?

You can't print onatm thermal paper rolls using normal printers such as inkjet or laser printers. Rollo thermal paper is designed to be used in thermal printers and normal printers are not able to react to its thermal coating. Normal printers need to use paper suitable for their technology, such as inkjet paper for inkjet printers, and normal or laser paper for laser printers.

How to choose the right thermal paper:

1.First of all determine the size and grams of thermal paper: there are a variety of different sizes of thermal imaging paper on the market, different sizes have different uses, to determine the size of their own industry needs to choose, and at the same time to choose the right eco thermal paper with their own printers to match.

2.Thermal paper quality: thermal paper color development is an important part of the quality of thermal letter paper. The quality of paper pos on the market at different levels, you need to choose durable and not easy to fade thepos terminal paper rolls. How to judge the quality of paper roll receipt can be heated by a lighter to check the quality of the back.

3. Price: there are many different brands of till receipt rolls at different prices, when choosing thermal paper need to balance the price of thermal paper with the quality of whether to match, buy value for money eco friendly receipt paper.

In short, there is still a big difference between thermal paper and regular paper, in the choice of paper to clarify the use of the product, so as to choose the right product for you. Purchase of thermal paper to specify the quality of the product, size, weight, price, etc., Sailingpaper is your best choice! At the same time, Sailing also provides thermal labels, label materials, thermal printers and a series of products, so you can one-stop shopping, and also has a number of overseas warehouses and a number of sizes of products for you to choose from, contact us now!