The working principle of ribbon-based printers is somewhat different from those of laser and inkjet printers. The printhead of a thermal-transfer printer is wide and has special elements lengthwise, which determine the pattern that is printed. A special ink-covered ribbon is placed between the material and the printhead, and due to temperature alteration, the ink is separated from the ribbon and melted into the material. This method is considered to be efficient at creating images that are not susceptible to smearing and do not fade, therefore heat-transfer printing is often used in printing barcodes and identification information on labels. Labels are usually standardized in size, so ribbons match these parameters as well.

Another type of ribbons you can buy on our website is laminating ribbons. These heat-sensitive ribbons are used in special laminating devices that create a protective layer over a document. Lamination is widely used to protect important documents from damage.