Thermal Transfer Printing Basic Troubleshooting

Barcode Direct

Bar Growth

Print speed too high – reduce speed
Old or inferior ribbon media – replace media
Use fresh (not older than 1 year) ribbon; use premium – grade consumables

Insufficient print Contrast Signal (PSC) or Light Image

Print head overheats – reduce print speed / energy
Faded image – ribbon and media incompatible
Consult supplier for compatible ribbon / media combination

Unable to Sustain Proper Wide / Narrow Ratio

Under Burn (not enough ribbon transfer) – raise energy setting; use a ribbon with a higher sensitivity
Over Burn (too much ribbon transfer) – reduce energy setting – use a ribbon with lower sensitivity
Bars too thick – reduce energy setting; improve media / ribbon quality

Streaks or Dead Spots

Wrinkled ribbon
Printhead misalignment – realign print head
Adjust print head pressure
Guide bar misalignment – realign guide bat
Reduce print energy
Make sure ribbon width is only slightly wider than label
Adjust rewind tension

Pits or Voids, Inconsistent Image Quality

Dirty print head – clean out print head
Dust on label media

Poor Edge Definition

Printing too fast – reduce speed
Ribbon and media incompatible

Leading and/or Trailing Edges of Image are Translucent (“Ghosting”)

Slew rate to print rate is too high – reduce slew rate, one level at a time
Print head temperature is too low – increase print head temperature one level at a time