Wax ribbons

What is a wax ribbon?

A wax ribbon is a ribbon coated with an ink made with wax-based components. Wax ribbons are the most popular thermal transfer ribbon for thermal transfer printers. Wax-based inks have a good adhesion on almost all types of substrates and are suitable for printing barcodes and other types of labels.

Wax ribbons will deliver a great print quality on the following label materials:

• Rough vellum papers
• Matte coated papers
• Glossy coated papers

What are the typical uses of wax Thermal Transfer ribbons?

• Storage
• Shipping
• Crate
• Distribution labels
• Tags
• Bag of parts/products
• Signage and logos

What makes a wax ribbon different from wax-resin and resin ribbon?

• Print durability: It’s a softer ink more vulnerable to scratching and smudging. For applications requiring a more durable ink, it will be appropriate to use wax-resin or resin ribbons.
• Printer compatibility: Wax ribbons are working on Flat-head printers, whereas Wax-resin and Resin ribbons can also run on Near-Edge printers.
• Printhead heat setting: Wax inks have a lower melting point temperature compared to Wax-resin and Resin ribbons. They impose less stress to the printhead.
• Label compatibility: Wax ribbons are suitable for uncoated or matte coated surfaces. For synthetic labels, Wax-resin and Resin ribbons are more suitable.

Wax ribbons are also available in a variety of colors to suit a multitude of applications.