Overview; Overview Of Thermal Printing Technology - Hengstler TS-56 Operating Manual

TwinSide TS™ Thermal Printer Family
The DC power connector must not be plugged in or disconnected under load in order
to avoid damage to the electrical components and the thermal printhead.
Avoid strong vibration, shock and/or impact, since they may damage or destroy
sensitive electronic and mechanical components. Do not touch the surface of the
printer control board in order to prevent static electricity from damaging sensitive
components.
This thermal printer must not be used near high-frequency devices or strong
magnetic fields in order to prevent potential electromagnetic disturbance.
Do not make any attempts to service this printer (e.g. change paper) while the printer
is printing.
Installing or uninstalling the printer must only be done while using appropriate and
adequate ESD protection.
This printer is made from conductive materials, and must be properly grounded to
avoid a static charge from building up on the printed paper and interfering with paper
transport or presentation.
2.

Overview

2.1. Overview of Thermal Printing Technology

A brief overview of thermal printer technology might be helpful to understand how the
TwinSide TS™ thermal printer family works. In most direct thermal printers, paper is fed over
a soft, rotating platen and under the thermal printhead. The platen acts as a roller to advance
the paper at the same time it acts as a surface against which the spring-loaded printhead
presses the paper to insure good thermal conductivity. Circuitry in the printer determines
which heating elements to activate ("fire" or "burn") to form the next row of dots on the paper.
The thermal paper is coated with several compounds.
compounds are white in color and do not react with each other. The heat from the thermal
printhead acts as a catalyst in the areas where the small printhead dots are fired, causing
these compounds to react with each other and form a new compound which is a contrasting
color, usually black. The platen then advances the paper to the position of the next dot row,
and the process is repeated.
Part No. D 691 023A Mod. No. 4 120912 LEV
HENGSTLER
At room temperature, these
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