The market for Thermal Transfer Printers that will print on single pieces of packaging is limited although there are still a few options.Some printers allow you to place a stack of products into the feeder and they will feed into the machine from the bottom of the stack. Other printers, such as those at Pliant Packaging, require a tray to be lowered for the products to be loaded into the feeder and then they feed from top and the tray rises as the stack gets smaller. Bottom feeding printers have a variable of stack weight which can change dramatically depending on how large of a stack has been loaded into the feeder. This can lead to issues ranging from jams to double feeds and require either frequent adjustment of the separator or small amounts of product to be loaded into the feeder each time. This requires more supervision from the operator than is necessary with top feeding printers. The feeder tray for a top feeder allows more pieces of product to be loaded each time and the constant force seen at the separator allows for less adjustments and therefore allows the operator to spend time away from the printer while it is in operation.Also, since a top feeding printer has the transport higher than a bottom feeding printer, it allows it to interface with a stacker post printing without the need for a special stand as would be needed with a bottom feeding printer.
