Thermal transfer printing is a very different method that uses a heat sens.
Thermal print head technology.
Two color direct thermal printers can print both black and an additional color by applying heat at two different temperatures.
Thermal print head which is manufactured by the thick film process has excellent durabilities abrasion pulse and environmental resistance etc.
Thermal print heads for professionals and consumers alike inkjet printing technologies have made producing full color high quality photographs documents and fine art reproductions easier cleaner and more affordable.
Thermal technology was invented independently and simultaneously in the 1970s by printhead technolo in japan and hewlett packard in the usa which decided to pool their patents rather than fight each other.
The coating turns black in the areas where it is heated producing an image.
This involves heating the ink within the ink chamber until it vaporises creating a bubble which forces a drop of ink through the nozzle.
The only real alternative is thermal technology which is used by hp for its latex printers and canon for its imageprograf series.