Thermal and Thermal Transfer Labels
Barcode, logistics and shipping labels printed on your own machines — supplied with the ribbon that matches them. Both stocks are held in stock, so lead times do not depend on a material enquiry.
Direct Thermal or Thermal Transfer?
The choice is not about print quality. It is about how long the label has to stay readable and what it will be exposed to.
| Direct thermal | Thermal transfer | |
|---|---|---|
| How it prints | Heat-sensitive coating darkens under the printhead | Ribbon melts onto the face stock |
| Ribbon needed | No | Yes |
| Typical life | Weeks to months | Years |
| Weak against | Heat, sunlight, friction — the image fades and can black out entirely | Ribbon mismatch; the wrong ribbon scratches off |
| Use it for | Shipping labels, parcel and courier labels, weigh-scale and deli labels | Asset tags, warehouse and rack labels, product identification, anything stored long term |
If the label has to outlive the shipment, use thermal transfer. If it is read once and thrown away, direct thermal is cheaper and needs no consumable.
Label Specifications
| Face stock | Direct thermal paper, thermal transfer paper — both held in stock. Synthetic and film stocks available where the label has to survive moisture or handling. |
| Web width | 320–350 mm standard, 450 mm maximum |
| Pre-printing | Up to 12 + 2 colours flexo — company logo, coloured zones and fixed text printed in advance, with the variable field left blank for your printer |
| Delivery format | Rolls to your core diameter and unwind direction, or fanfold for high-volume desktop and industrial printers |
| Die-cutting | Standard and custom shapes on eight die-cutting units; perforation between labels on request |
| Adhesive | Permanent, removable and freezer-grade — specify the surface and the temperature it is applied at |
Thermal Transfer Ribbons — Supplied Under Your Brand
We supply ribbons alongside the labels, packaged under your own brand. Standard sizes are available from stock and any width, length and core can be made to order. Because we specify both sides of the pairing, you are not left testing whether a ribbon from one supplier works on stock from another.
| Ribbon | Prints well on | Durability | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wax | Paper stocks | Basic — smudges under friction and solvents | Shipping, logistics, general warehouse labelling |
| Wax-resin | Paper and coated stocks | Good scratch and smudge resistance | Retail, product identification, outer carton labels |
| Resin | Synthetics and films — PET, polyimide, synthetic paper | High — resists solvents, heat and abrasion | Asset tags, electronics, automotive, chemical drums |
Ribbons are sourced and converted to specification, not manufactured in our plant. Tell us your printer model, the label stock and the conditions the print has to survive, and we will specify the grade.
Barcode Quality Is Graded, Not Assumed
A barcode that scans on your desk can still fail at a distribution centre. Retail and GS1 supply chains accept barcodes on a graded scale, not on whether they happen to read.
We grade barcodes on a Microscan LVS-9510 verifier to ISO/IEC 15415 and 15416 — the same standard your customer’s goods-in department applies. Every order is 100 % web inspected before shipment on seven high-speed inspection machines and two inline vision systems, under a control system we wrote ourselves (software copyright 2018SR581701).
For pre-printed barcodes, send the symbology, the X-dimension and the target grade with your artwork. If the code density is too fine for the stock and printing method, we will tell you before the plates are made rather than after the run.
What to Tell Us
- Label size in millimetres and the gap between labels
- Direct thermal or thermal transfer — or describe how long the label must stay readable and we will advise
- Total quantity and labels per roll
- Core diameter and unwind direction, or fanfold
- Printer make and model, if you know it
- Whether anything is pre-printed, and in how many colours
Ribbons can be quoted with the labels or separately. See also label materials and industrial and warehouse applications.
Labels and Ribbons From One Supplier
Send your printer model and label size. We will quote the stock and the matching ribbon together, and print a sample before you commit.