Direct Thermal

Direct thermal printers make an image by heating paper or labels coated with a layer that darkens where it gets hot. There is no ink, toner or ribbon to run out, which keeps them simple and quick at a registration desk, and it is why most on-demand badge printing uses them. The trade-offs are black-only printing on most models and a badge that fades if it bakes on a sunny car dashboard, which is fine for a three-day show and poor for a staff pass meant to last a year.

Its sibling, thermal transfer, melts ink from a ribbon onto the stock, which lasts longer and suits exhibitor and staff credentials, at the cost of ribbons to change. UK and US catalogues use both names the same way. Colour on a thermal badge comes from pre-printed stock, a coloured stripe or the lanyard, not from the printer.

Because eventcloud badges are designed in real millimetres and previewed as print-ready PDFs, a black-only layout for thermal stock can be checked before the first badge prints.