Picking the right printer ribbon for your application can be a VERY difficult and confusing process.
There are a variety of different ribbons for thermal transfer printing. Each ribbon is designed to be used with a certain material.
This blog post will help you understand the different types of ribbons that are available, as well as the correct materials with which to pair them.
How to Pick the Right Printer Ribbon
To break it down, here are the three types of printer ribbons that Zebra offers:
Wax
Wax-Resin
Resin
Let’s take a quick look at each ribbon type.
Wax Ribbons
Wax ribbons are the most affordable type of ribbons around. Wax ribbons work best on coated paper labels and tags. They offer some protection against smearing, scratching, and chemicals, but not as much as a wax-resin or resin ribbon.
Wax ribbons are an excellent choice if you are printing labels or tags in a retail application. Remember to only use wax ribbons with a PAPER label. If you attempt to print with wax ribbons on a synthetic label, your image will be smeared and difficult to read. This is especially important if you’re printing out barcodes.
Barcodes must be printed in the highest resolution possible.
A grainy or smeared barcode will be difficult to scan with your barcode scanner.
Zebra currently offers four different wax ribbon: 2000 Standard, 2100 Enhanced, 6000 Performance, and 5319 Performance.
Wax-Resin Ribbons
Wax-resin ribbons are a hybrid of both materials. These ribbons are a step above a standard wax ribbon. Wax-resin ribbons work best on coated paper and matte synthetic labels and tags. They offer good protection against smearing, scratching, and chemicals.
Essentially, wax-resin ribbons are the middle tier of printer ribbons. They offer more protection against smearing than a standard wax ribbon, but not as much as a resin ribbon.
Wax-resin ribbons are a great choice for retail, warehouse, and certain shipping applications. Please note that ANY type of synthetic label will require a wax-resin or resin ribbon.
Examples of synthetic label materials include polypropylene, polyester, and polyimide.
Zebra currently offers three types of wax-resin ribbon: 5555 Enhanced, 3200 Performance, and 6100 Performance.
Resin Ribbons
Resin ribbons are the best quality ribbons that money can buy. Resin ribbons work best with synthetic and gloss paper labels and tags. They offer excellent protection against smearing, scratching, and chemicals.
Resin ribbons are in the highest tier of ribbons available. As a result, they are a bit more costly to order than wax or wax-resin ribbons.
PLS highly recommends that you pair resin ribbons with any type of synthetic or high gloss label or tag.
Resin ribbons offer the highest definition in printing. This is a feature that is commonly used in computer labeling and micro label applications. Resin ribbons ensure that you will get the cleanest, most defined image possible.
Resin ribbons are commonly used in extreme weather conditions. They offer excellent protection against the elements, whether it’s extremely hot or extremely cold.
Zebra currently offers four types of resin ribbon: 5095 Performance, 6200 Performance, 5100 Premium, and ImageLock.
How can you be confident that you will pick the right printer ribbon?
At PLS, we offer free consultations to customers to help them with the ribbon selection process. Our specialty is printer media, which means we have knowledge of both printer labels AND printer ribbons.
Do you have any questions regarding your labeling application? Are you confused as to which ribbon you should be using?
Feel free to contact PLS at 1-844-458-1078, or email us at info@professionallabelsolutions.com. Our reps are happy to help you pick the best combination of printer ribbons and labels for your application.
