TTR Expert Selling Tools

Premium Wax? General Purpose Wax? Which Wax is Right For You?

Summary
When it comes to wax ribbons, there are a lot of options out there. IMP offers two grades thermal transfer wax ribbons, general purpose and premium. This article walks you through how to choose the appropriate grade of wax ribbon for your printing needs.

Premium unleaded fuel in a 72 Super Beetle?  Nah. Leaded fuel in a Tesla – Nope.

When you go to the gas station, how many choices of fuel are there? It’s all gas, but there are different grades.  Some vehicles run just fine with the standard grade.  Sure, you can put premium fuel in the vehicle, but you won’t get better performance, just a higher price.  Higher end or specialized vehicles on the other hand, because of the operating specifications, may recommend a premium grade of fuel.  In this case, choosing the standard grade will likely result in poor performance.

When you go to the gas station, how many choices of fuel are there? It’s all gas, but there are different grades.  Some vehicles run just fine with the standard grade.  Sure, you can put premium fuel in the vehicle, but you won’t get better performance, just a higher price.  Higher end or specialized vehicles on the other hand, because of the operating specifications, may recommend a premium grade of fuel.  In this case, choosing the standard grade will likely result in poor performance.

The key is to purchase the appropriate fuel grade for the vehicle. 

The same holds true for thermal transfer wax ribbons.

When it comes to wax ribbons, there are a lot of options out there.  IMP offers two grades thermal transfer wax ribbons:

  • Z908 – General Purpose Wax Ribbon
  • Z107Plus – Premium Resin Enhanced Wax Ribbon

Both of these formulations are great ribbons – when used in the proper application.  Below is a table that highlights some of the primary differences in the ribbons.

  Z908 GP Wax Ribbon Z107Plus Premium Wax Ribbon
Print Speed Up to 8 ips Up to 16 ips
Prints exceptionally well on:    
Coated and uncoated labels & Tags ü ü
Vellum Materials ü ü
Matte & Semi-gloss materials   ü
Flood coated material   ü
Synthetics including gloss PE   ü
Synthetics including gloss PE   ü
Polybags   ü
Designed for:    
Shipping labels ü ü
Product Identification ü ü
Logistics labels ü ü
Retail labels & tags ü ü
Cold Storage film labels   ü
Lumber Tags   ü
Flexible Packaging   ü
Use with High Speed Applicators   ü
Rotated barcodes   ü
Benefits    
Excellent edge density   ü
High-level durability   ü
Drop in replacement ü ü
Uses lower printhead energy ü ü
High optical density ü ü
Prints at a wide range of energy and speed settings ü ü

Label Examples

As a general rule of thumb, Z908 general purpose wax is ideal for printing onto non-rotated (picker fence) barcodes, while Z107plus premium wax is better suited for rotated (ladder) barcodes and complex printing formats.  To learn more about the differences in rotated and non-rotate barcodes, click here.

The other performance differentiator between these two formulations is image durability. For lower level durability requirements, such as shipping and carton labels, Z908 general purpose provides the needed performance.  For applications requiring more scratch and smear resistance,, such as retail compliance labeling, Z107plus is the recommend choice, due to the higher resin content.

Z908 Recommended Formats

Z107Plus Recommended Formats

Z908 and Z107Plus wax ribbons are compatible with the following printers:

  • Zebra
  • Honeywell
  • Datamax
  • Avery
  • Intermec
  • TSC
  • SATO
  • Printronix

Key Thermal Transfer Applications

What You Need To Know For A Thermal Transfer Ribbon Quote

  • What is the Application?
  • What is the label or tag material and how wide is it?
  • What level of durability is needed?
  • What thermal printer is being used?
  • Unsure of any of the above?

Take a picture of the label on the customer’s current ribbon

and send it to info@impzh.com and we will recommend the right ribbon solution

 

IMP’s Complete Product Line

Premium Wax Wax/Resin Resin Near Edge / TTO

Partner – NOT Supplier

IMP is your partner for innovative thermal transfer ribbon solutions which reduce the Total Cost of Ownership of Thermal Transfer Printing.

Reach out to us or contact your IMP representative today for pricing, free ribbon samples, or just to strategize on ways we can help you expand your ribbon and label sales.

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