Thermal Printer

A direct thermal printer prints by applying heat to the material. It does not use any ribbon, ink or toner, but it requires a special type of heat-sensitive material that blackens when heat is applied.

Due to their simpler, ribbon-free mechanics, direct thermal printers are more compact, and most mobile printers use direct thermal technology.

With no ribbon needed to print, direct thermal printers are also easy to operate and have fewer components that can fail.