Direct Thermal Labels · Functional
The paper that prints itself
The short answer: a heat-sensitive coating darkens under the print head, so a direct thermal printer needs no ribbon and no ink at all. It is how dates, lots and dispatch labels get printed at the packing bench. Blank rolls from £54 per 100; with your design pre-printed and a panel left free, from £157.
Any shape within this size — rectangle, round, oval or custom die-cut.
VAT invoice · card or bank transfer · proof before production · ±5 % quantity tolerance
- Printing
- 1 option
- Protection
- 1 option
- Adhesives
- 1
- Sizes
- 16 formats
- Smallest
- 35 × 30 mm
- Largest
- 100 × 105 mm
- Quantities
- 100 → 10 000, more quoted
- Variable data
- quoted on request
Printed from £157 per 100, unprinted on rolls from £54. Production 2 to 10 working days after proof approval.
Its one real weakness
Heat is what prints it, and heat is what kills it
The coating reacts to heat — that is the whole mechanism, and it does not stop after printing. A thermal label left on a sunny windowsill, in a warm cabinet or against a hot surface darkens all over and becomes unreadable. Friction does the same thing more slowly: a label rubbed against a crate for three months goes grey.
The protected grade in this range carries a top coat that resists moisture and handling and slows that ageing considerably — it is what makes thermal viable in a chilled room or a warehouse. For a label that must still be legible in five years, thermal transfer with a resin ribbon on a film is the honest answer instead.
- Printer
- direct thermal, no ribbon
- Blank rolls
- £54 / 100
- Pre-printed
- £157 / 100
- Protection
- none — the head needs the surface
- Lifespan
- months, not years
- Enemies
- heat, sunlight, friction
- Sizes
- up to 100 × 105 mm
Two ways to use it
Blank, or pre-printed with a free panel
Blank rolls — £54 / 100
Your printer produces the whole label. The cheapest route when the content changes every time and nobody needs colour.
Overprintable — £157 / 100
We print your design in full colour and leave a panel bare. You add the date and the lot as you pack, and the pack still carries a brand label.
In both cases the printable area must carry no varnish and no lamination — a coating stops the print head marking the paper and the label comes out blank.
Price by quantity
What a run actually costs
Up to 55 × 70 mm, full colour, unprotected — die, setup and printing included.
| Quantity | Run price | Per label |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | £187 | £1.87 |
| 200 | £192 | £0.96 |
| 300 | £195 | £0.65 |
| 500 | £197 | £0.39 |
| 1 000 | £216 | £0.21 |
| 1 500 | £228 | £0.15 |
| 2 000 | £246 | £0.12 |
| 3 000 | £275 | £0.094 |
| 5 000 | £346 | £0.069 |
| 10 000 | £523 | £0.052 |
Excluding VAT and delivery. Other sizes, finishes and quantities are priced in the configurator above.
FAQ
Direct thermal — what customers ask us
What is the difference with thermal transfer?
Direct thermal darkens the paper itself — no ribbon, fewer consumables, simpler machines. Thermal transfer melts ink from a ribbon onto the label, which costs more per label but produces a mark that survives heat, sunlight and years. Choose direct thermal for dates and dispatch, transfer for anything that must last.
How long does a thermal label stay readable?
Months in normal indoor conditions, and considerably longer on the protected grade. What shortens it is heat, direct sunlight and friction. If a label has to be legible after several years — an asset or a warranty label — do not use thermal.
Can I laminate it for protection?
No. A lamination or a varnish sits between the print head and the coating, and nothing prints. That is also why overprintable rolls leave a bare panel in the middle of an otherwise finished design.
Which stock for a chilled room?
The protected grade. It resists the damp of a cold room and the handling of a packing bench far better than the standard thermal paper, for £2 more per hundred. In a freezer, pair it with a freezer-grade adhesive — see deep-freeze labels.
Will it work in my printer?
If your printer is direct thermal, yes. Tell us the model with the order and we match the stock, the roll diameter and the winding direction; if you are unsure, send a photo of the roll you use today and we identify it.
No ribbon, no ink, no cartridge.
Direct thermal paper, blank from £54, pre-printed from £157.