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How can I tell my
printer supplies
apart, and which
supplies are used
specifically for
wax thermal
transfer printing
and which are
used for dye-
sublimation
printing?
Note: Dye-sublimation and wax thermal transfer supplies
are not interchangeable! Each specific set of supplies must
only be used with their specific printing method.
Ribbons
■
Thermal wax transfer ribbons are distinguished
by their cardboard cores and are available in
monochrome, 3-color, or 4-color ribbon types.
■
Dye-sublimation ribbons are distinguished by
their plastic cores and are available in
monochrome, 3-color, or 4-color ribbon types.
Paper and Transparencies
■
Thermal wax transfer paper comes packaged in 200
sheet reams and is available in a Standard or
Premium grade. These paper stocks are simply
smooth or coated paper stocks ideal for thermal
wax transfer printing. The Perf paper is a longer,
premium grade paper with tear off ends which
allow for near full page wax thermal printing.
T-shirt transfer paper is also available for thermal
wax printing only. The lines on the back of the
T-shirt paper denote the non-printable side of the
paper.
■
Dye-sublimation paper comes pre-packaged with
the dye-sublimation ribbon and is distinguished
from wax thermal paper by its white, glossy
printable side and cream colored non-printable
side.
■
Thermal wax transfer transparencies are
extended length sheets with perfed extensions
which allow for near full page wax thermal
printing. Located on the perfed extension, is a
white sensing strip which the printer needs to
detect each end of the transparency.
■
Dye-sublimation transparencies are standard A
(letter) or A4 length sheets with a white sensing
strip at the top and bottom of the sheet. There are
no perfed extensions on the dye-sublimation
transparencies.