Coated Surfaces

If the surfaces, that have to be printed, are coated, pre-printed, painted or something alike, it can be difficult, to print them with Thermaltransfer-Ribbons. The problem is not the material itself, but the physic and chemic attributes of the surface. Materials with low energetic surfaces, like corona-treated, can usually be printed without problems. Top-coats can either be printed very good, or they can cause problems, they can even be completely impossible to print. Foil coated specially for matrix prints has caused very bad experiences. And not every kind of top-coat is suitable for printing with Thermaltransfer-Ribbons. You also have to be careful with coated and high-glossed papers, as well as with fully or raster printed labels. Especially if labels are fully printed with UV-hardened lacquer this does not only help to protect the labels, but also hinder every kind of other printing. A good way to test if coated material can still be printed, is trying to write on it with a pen.

There are so many different colours and coats, that you should ask every provider carefully for the right material that allows a clean printing with Thermaltransfer-Ribbons. The best way is a pre-test that every efficient supplier of Thermaltransfer-Ribbons should offer. Gaps in the printing with UV-lacquers can solve the problem.

Papers and foils with a metallic surface (laminated or vapour-deposited) are not printable most times. If they are, the printing result is quite poor. Metal is a good conductor of heat, so it bleeds the heat impulse of the printing head off and makes a melting and conveying of the colour impossible.