Mondo Knows Facts
Receipt printers use heat-sensitive paper coated with leuco dye
Targeted thermal pulses turn chemical paper coatings black to print receipt text
Modern retail receipt printers do not use liquid ink ribbons. Instead, they print onto thermal paper coated with a colourless leuco dye and developer chemicals. The solid-state printhead applies targeted heat pulses, melting the chemical layer to reveal dark black text instantly.
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Tags: retail, paper, printing
Receipt printers use heat-sensitive paper coated with leuco dye: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Targeted thermal pulses turn chemical paper coatings black to print receipt text. The figure is taken from NIST, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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