Avery Dennison ALX 924 Setup Manual - Manual (Page 4)

06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL Setup
ALX 92x
4
Selecting the printing material
Thermal transfer / direct thermal printing
The ALX 92x can print onto label material using the direct thermal mode or
thermal transfer mode.
Direct thermal Direct thermal printing is done without ribbon. The direct thermal process
requires label material with a temperature-sensitive coating. The printout is
produced by applying precise bursts of heat to the material under the
printhead. This changes the colour of the coating.
Thermal
transfer Thermal transfer printing is done with (thermal transfer) ribbon on “normal”
label material. The printout is produced by applying precise bursts of heat to
the thermal transfer ribbon under the printhead. This transfers the colour
particles to the label.
Label material
The ALX 92x was developed for printing on self-adhesive stock.
Pay attention to the following factors when selecting label material:
•
The roughness of the material surface
• The printhead temperature required for the colour transfer
• Size of the material roll. The following dimensions need to be checked:
Outside-/inside diameter of the material roll and the material width
Material
roughness If the material is very rough, the printhead will be worn down more quickly
than when using a smooth material. This is an important aspect of thermal
printing. With thermal transfer printing, this doesn’t pose such a problem,
because you can – and indeed should – select a ribbon that is wider than the
material. This means that the printhead is protected over the entire width of
the material.
Printhead
temperature High printhead temperatures can similarly cause problems. The material and
the ribbon take longer to cool. As a result, the print quality may degrade –
particularly at high print speeds. The printhead also wears down more
quickly.
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The printing result is highly dependent on the right combination of label
material and thermal transfer ribbon. The surface of the label material
determines which thermal transfer ribbons produces the best adhesion.
Unsuitable ribbons can lead to poor printing results.
P Further information can be found in the topic section Technical data , section
“Label material”.