Hi.

I would like to have information about thermal transfer printers or label printers that can be used with a microcontroller. To which I can send information from a microcontroller.

I would also like to know if I can use a common thermal printer to print adhesive labels.
I found this
https://www.adafruit.com/product/597
but I dont know if it can be used to print thermal label roll. Like this:
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop...label-roll-100-x-150mm-1000-labels-inz1342215

 

It doesn't look good.

Mini Thermal Receipt Printer

• Effective Printing Width: 48mm
• Character Set: ASCII,GB2312-80(Chinese)
• Print Font: ANK:5×7, Chinese: 12x24,24×24
• Paper Type: Thermal paper
• Paper Width: 57.5 ±0.5mm

The labels each measure 100 x 150 mm.

 

Would this do?
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/mini-Th...106842?hash=item2f183ce4da:g:01oAAOxyrP9RZ4Ht
It is really hard to tell.

And there are lots of second hand one on Ebay..
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-A799...208578e:g:Rg0AAOSwEEBZ--K~&LH_ItemCondition=4

A second hand brand name one may be easier to get driving info for.

 

I think you can probably print direct thermal labels with the printer you are looking at, though there may be issues with getting the labels to feed properly and finding labels that will fit.

Commercial label printers use optical sensors to detect the leading edge of each label or a mark on the backing paper. Without such a detector you might find that the the printing tends to shift vertically a little because the spacing of the labels is not perfectly uniform (though it is very good with the Brady labels I use). The standard rolls of paper labels are quite heavy and a small printer might have trouble pulling the labels through, but you could solve that by using cut strips of labels or making shorter rolls. The labels with their backing paper will also be thicker than normal thermal paper.

Label printers also have a movable guide to keep the labels positioned horizontally because there are many different sizes. You could probably make something that would work OK without too much difficulty.

You may have difficulty finding labels that will fit the printer. Narrow labels are often 2 to 6 across on wide backing paper. You'll just have to check what is available. Note that the labels are usually about 1 cm narrower than the backing paper.

You probably can't make the mini printer reverse the feed direction. With labels this may mean wasting some labels because you likely would need to advance the labels to be able to get at the last one printed.

I don't know of any direct thermal labels made of any of the common plastic materials such as polyester, vinyl or polypropylene. I use thermal transfer labels in those materials, but a separate ribbon is required. More heat is required when a ribbon is used and I doubt if you could make a printer intended for direct thermal printing work with a transfer ribbon.