THERMAL PRINTING OR
INKJET PRINTING?
The REAL Facts.
Is it really true that inkjet printing is actually cheaper than
thermal printing? Why would you want to even consider to
offer thermal printing to your customers as an alternative
or complement to inkjet printing? The following summari-
zes the key facts you need to know and the advantages
that thermal printing offers:
IMAGE QUALITY
Photo-realistic images are only achievable with thermal printing. They are
even sharper than replicated prints.
QUANTITY/QUALITY CONSISTENCY
You have experienced inconsistent print-quality with inkjet printing. Print qua-
lity will look different based on how much ink remains in any of the cartrid-
ges. With thermal printing, each ribbon contains enough pigment to print 500
discs. Each print is identical.
DRY TIME
Inkjet-printed media could take a few minutes to dry. But inks stay wet
around the outside edge and on the inner hub due to surface finish characte-
ristics of all discs. This leads to ink “smearing and smudging” caused by
handling of un-dried discs. Thermal prints are never wet to have to dry!
Thermal technology eliminates dry time.
INDELIBILITY
Inkjet prints will easily scratch, fade, run and smudge. This will never happen
with thermal prints.
COST/SAVINGS
It is difficult to forecast inkjet print-output since ink output could vary from
job to job. You might save initially on the cost of the printer, but incure more
future costs with inefficient inkjet cartidge replacement and related job ‘re-
runs”. With thermal printing you can get 500 prints per ribbon. GUARAN-
TEED.
COLOR SHIFT
Color shifting occurs when one of the three colors in a cartridge runs out.
This causes overall color accuracy to ‘shift’ in the middle of a run. With ther-
mal printing, there is absolutely no color shifting. The sensor system of the
Image Pro printer recognizes when ribbon capacity is at its end.
BANDING
Inkjet Printing can create visible horizontal lines (‘bands’) across the disc as
ink runs out. Banding happens generally with larger jobs that are set up to
run unattended. What is your REAL cost-per-print when you have to throw
out 20 bad discs repeatedly? With thermal printing, 500 identical discs-per-
ribbon is ASSURED, so you can truly use the printer unattended.
EDGE-TO-EDGE PRINTING
Inkjet printer can not print to the edge of the disc. Due to non-printable cha-
racteristic of the edges of an inkjet disc, over-run ink never dries and smears
when touched. Thermal printing prints edge-to-edge.
INKJET PRINTING
Average Quality Depending on
Media Quality
Inconsistent
Varies / can get very Messy
Will Scratch, Fade, Run or Smudge
and is NOT water-proof
Variable – Not so easy to Forecast
Color Shifting will occure
Risk of Scrap
Varies / can get very messy
Cannot Print Edge-to-Edge
DYE-SUBLIMATION
PRINTING
Highest Print Quality in the
Industry
Consistent
Instantly with no Mess
Won’t Scratch, Fade, Run or
Smudge and is Water-proof
Fixed Costs
No Color Shifts
No Scrap
No Banding
Will Print Edge-to-Edge
SEND IN YOUR IMAGE
TODAY AND WE WILL
PRINT A SAMPLE FOR
YOU ON DISC!
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