Why does thermal paper fade

Ultimately, the best way of keeping thermal receipts is to make a copy of them. Photocopies should suffice as proof of purchase, according to consumer rights experts CHOICE spoke with, but we've heard of some stores contrary to Australian Consumer Law refusing to honour them. Got a smartphone or tablet? The app allows you to take photos of your receipts and store them it also has handy info on your consumer rights as well as running alerts for when your gift cards expire. Lisa told them she had bought an item that was faulty, but her receipt had faded before she had an opportunity to return it.

Here are her experiences:. Skip to content Skip to footer navigation. What about a photo mat with handwritten notes from people using different kinds of pens? Previous Next. Why Receipts Fade? Even if your thermal receipts fade, there are ways you can restore them. How to Restore Faded Receipts? Restoring a faded thermal paper is quite simple. Here are 3 ways to do so.

Related Posts. April 9th, 0 Comments. May 11th, 0 Comments. March 4th, 0 Comments. Notify of. Oldest Newest Most Voted. Inline Feedbacks. Reply to Emma. Frank Ouyang. Reply to Maria. It seems to be impossible to restore it because you have ironed the receipt. The right side of Figure 1 shows the samples at the start of the test.

Figure 1 shows that all five samples discolor slightly after 24 hours of exposure to intense UV light, but none discolor badly.

Seven-day exposure : The left side of Figure 2 shows sheet discoloration of the thermal paper samples after seven days. The right side of Figure 2 shows the samples at the start of the test. Figure 2 demonstrates that all five samples have significant discoloration after seven days of exposure to intense UV light but remain legible. Sample J has the least discoloration and is a good choice for uses where exposure to daylight is difficult to avoid.

Therefore, we can see that exposure to intense UV light, found in sunlight or office fluorescent lighting, over a period of a few months causes mild discoloration of documents but does not significantly reduce the legibility of a document with a clear, dark image.

Exposure to moisture, whether it be rain or humidity, also one of the factors that contribute to the fading ink on receipt. Same as normal paper , thermal paper absorbs moisture in the air. Therefore, not only heat, but humidity also can cause serious performance and readability problems. In other words, the paper is highly hygroscopic in nature. And most thermal paper materials have limited durability to moisture and degrade once subjected to it. The same goes with chemicals.

Expose to chemicals also can cause ink degradation on thermal paper. These chemicals could be any acidic or basic substances such as oily ink and acid paper. Despite all of these advantages that we have listed for thermal paper, why do we still seeing that it has been used widely around the world? Thermal papers are small, quiet, and less susceptible to vibration.

When its susceptible to vibration, it means that thermal paper is more reliable than any other type of papers. Maintenance costs are also low. The paper path is shorter which reduce the chance of a paper jam or misfeed.

We also save money on the ink because the dye is on the paper.