82 Zebra ZXP Series 1 Card Printer Service Manual P1061942-001
3: Theory of Operation
Card Printing Basics
Dye Sublimation Printing
In Dye Sublimation Printing, each Printhead heating element is applied voltage at one of a
number of pulse widths. A wider pulse results in the element getting hotter, which converts
more of the dye (at that pixel location) to a gas and diffuses it into the surface of the card (a
wider pulse gives more intense color at that pixel). This is repeated for each of the dye panels
(i.e., Yellow, Magenta, and Cyan), to result in full-color images.
Thermal Transfer Printing
In Thermal Transfer, voltage is either applied or not applied to each Printhead printing
element. If voltage is applied, the ink at that location is transferred to the surface of the card.
Each pixel is either printed (i.e., the ink transferred to the card) or not; there are no
intermediate levels.
Thermal Transfer printing with a resin ribbon is used for printing bar codes, since contrast
between the light and dark areas is the highest and the edges are the sharpest.
Printhead
Platen Roller
Ribbon
Carrier
Layer
Ribbon
Dye
Layer
Card
Gaseous Dye
is Absorbed by
Card
Printhead
Platen Roller
Ribbon
Carrier
Layer
Ribbon
Ink Layer
Card
Ink Transferred
to Surface of
Card
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