In the last article, we have explained the three common types of receipt paper, and here in this article, we will explain how you can identify if the receipt paper is thermal by using these 3 methods.
1. Scratch with Your Fingernail
The easiest way to identify thermal paper is by scratching the paper surface with your fingernail. As mentioned above, thermal paper has a chemical coating on its surface, when you scratch the paper surface with your fingernail, there is heat generated in this process, and the thermal paper can show the black marks on its surface. It’s the easiest way to identify if it is thermal paper.
To ensure you have the right thermal paper, conduct a scratch test on both sides and see if you can see the black marks. If, after scratching, you don’t see any black dots or markets on either side, then it is not thermal paper.
2. Observe and Feel the Paper Surface
Another way to test if it’s a legit thermal paper is to observe and feel the paper surface and compare it with bond paper and carbonless paper. The thermal paper stands out with its smoother, shinier surface.
But in some cases, some bond paper also has a very smooth surface, so observing and feeling the paper surface isn’t the best way to determine if it is thermal paper.
3. Test the Paper on Thermal Printer
Last but not least, the best way to identify thermal paper is to test it with a thermal printer. A thermal printer uses heat to produce an image or text on thermal paper without the use of ribbons.
If you insert a wood-free paper roll or carbonless paper roll into the thermal printer, it won’t produce anything on these types of papers because they don’t have a chemical coating on their surface. If the paper roll can feed out printed images and texts once you run it into the thermal printer, it passes the test.
What’s Your Action Plan?
Whether in the retail, entertainment, or banking industry, printing receipts are made easy and economical with thermal paper. When you use thermal papers, you only have to invest in a thermal printer and purchase paper rolls all year round. You don’t have to think about maintaining your printer and ink cartridges—no more fiddling with the printer’s ribbons.
Are you ready to take your business to the next level with the use of thermal paper? Let us know if you need any of the receipt paper products we offer, we can send you a special price for bulk orders.
