The first batch or roll of thermal paper was created in 1965. This paper was made with the use of dye chemistry and a substance known as 3M which is basically metallic salts. The combination of the chemicals and metallic salts produced a paper that was unlike any other at the time of its creation.
The NCR company set the bar for the production of thermal paper eventually becoming an industry standard. At the head of the market NCR’s first thermal paper was durable and less expensive compared to other thermal paper products thanks to the use of 3M technology. After NCR’s invention of thermal paper other companies began creating likenesses of the paper product. Texas Instruments a widely known semiconductor and computer Technology Company based in Dallas, Texas began making its own thermal paper. However, Texas Instruments took the thermal paper process one step further and created a thermal print head called the Silent 700 in the year 1965.
The Texas Instrument’s thermal print head was comprised of a thermal printer and a computer terminal. Their print head was later released to the business market in 1969 and allowed companies to print their own thermal paper for use in their business. A few years later several Japanese based companies called Ricoh, Kanzaki and Jujo started producing their own thermal paper products but with another advanced feature they also introduced a barcode onto the paper. As a result they started producing thermal paper labels to be used in other business applications.
Eventually thermal paper found its home in the form of business receipts, tickets and labels. Today there are new changes to the thermal paper products out on the market. In 2006, the originator of the thermal paper product the NCR Corporation produce the first thermal paper printing technology that makes thermal printer much easier by being able to print on both sides of the paper. The 2ST as the new printer technology is called is a two sided thermal printer. It is without saying that technology has helped thermal paper through its evolution over the years.
Since thermal paper’s creation in the 1960s it has evolved and come a long way over the years. The advance of laser printers and thermal transfer along with electro photography has aided in thermal paper’s joint efforts with the use of bar coding making the product even more durable and easy to use. Being used in fax machines, at cash registers and ATMs the thermal paper product has become a part of everyday life with many not knowing the importance of the piece of paper they hold in their hand. So, the next time you go to your local grocer or when you are handed a receipt at the gasoline station or you are in the checkout line, remember that thermal paper made your transaction possible.
