Thermal technology

The term “thermal technology” can be a confusing one because people use it so broadly. Generally, when people use the term "thermal technology," they mean the ways we can use heat to do what we want. For instance, some people use the term thermal technology to refer to climate control -- for example, stopping the movement of heat with insulation, or changing the temperature in a room. Because heat always wants to travel from hot to cold, it's difficult to make it go in the other direction. In fact, it's impossible according to the laws of thermodynamics. Air conditioning units, however, use special fluids that can work within these laws to make a room colder.

Some electronics, such as thermal printers, are also said to use thermal technology. These electronics use heat to do their job, as opposed to climate control units, which move heat around to do their jobs. A thermal printer (or direct thermal printer) produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermochromic paper, or thermal paper as it is commonly known, when the paper passes over the thermal print head. The coating turns black in the areas where it is heated, producing an image.

The thermal printer mechanism is the core element for a thermal printer. Thermal printer mechanisms print faster and quieter than dot matrix printer mechanisms. They are also smaller, lighter and consume less power, making them ideal for portable and retail applications. For some applications they can be more economical since their only consumable is the paper itself. Nowadays, due to these advantages, the thermal printer mechanisms are used widely, and applications of thermal printer mechanisms include POS printers, barcode label printers, Kiosk vending machines, ATMs, etc.