Thermal Transfer Printing: The Durable Choice for Industrial Labels and Tags
Whether you’re printing plant pot labels, steel identification tags or chemical drum stickers, thermal transfer printing is the go-to method for producing sharp, durable labels that can withstand the toughest environments.
Thermal Transfer Printing for In-House Labelling Solutions
Thermal transfer printing is one of the most common printing methods for industrial labelling, producing crisp, long-lasting results that are ideal for barcodes and variable data.
The process is simple: a roll of labels and a ribbon coated with ink are fed through the printer. Heat from the print head melts the ink from the ribbon, transferring it onto the label surface to create text, images or barcodes with precision. And unlike direct thermal printing, thermal transfer produces labels that remain legible and intact for years, even in outdoor or industrial settings.
Thermal transfer printing is the most widely used printing process in the world for the printing of high-quality bar codes because of its high durability – thermal transfer printed labels can resist knocks, abrasion, chemicals, water and sunlight. This makes thermal transfer printing ideal for industrial labelling, and is widely used in horticulture, food production, steel & construction, industrial laundry and the chemicals industry – to name but a few!
Colour Choice
While thermal transfer printers print in one colour at a time, ribbons are available in a wide range of shades — perfect for colour-coding batches, matching your brand, or meeting industry colour standards.
Choose Durable Materials for Your Industrial Tags and Labels
Industry requires tough, durable labels and tags as well as tough, long-lasting print. As such, most industrial labels and tags are made from hard-wearing, synthetic materials, such as Bluepoint’s Poly-Tech (a recyclable HDPE) or Tyvek® (a spun-bonded HDPE). Other industries may use specialist paper-based labels and tags, such as commercial laundry, or laminated metal-detectable labels that are commonly used in the food production industry.
Printers and Software
If you’d like to print your own identification labels in-house, or add variable data or barcodes to custom, pre-printed labels, Bluepoint can set you up with the right printer and software. With printers from leading manufacturers such as Godex, TSC and Zebra, we can get you up and running in no time! And with next day delivery available on a range of thermal transfer ribbons and foils, we can help minimise any downtime too!
Get In Touch
Ready to start printing your own barcode labels? Contact the Bluepoint team today to find the best thermal transfer printer and ribbon for your business.
T: 01392 927 030
