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TICKET
INFORMATION
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Top Coat Info
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Tickets must be
manufactured from top-coated thermal paper to minimize the abrasiveness
of the paper. Non top-coated papers are typically abrasive and leave
debris on the print head. The debris may cause the ticket to
stick to the print head, particularly in humid conditions. Poorly
top-coated materials react similarly to non top-coated materials.
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General Abrasion Info
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While good topcoating
greatly reduces the inherent abrasiveness of the paper, we have found
occasional deficiencies in the topcoating of even the best thermal
papers. Fortunately, we have determined
that covering the ticket with thermal ink provides good abrasion
protection when the topcoating is insufficient. Therefore,
we strongly recommend that the entire surface of the ticket be
covered with quality thermal inks to protect the print head from the
effects of defective topcoatings. The best
way to accomplish this is to cover the ticket with transparent white
ink.
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Optical Characteristics
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The
printer senses the ticket by shining an infra-red beam of light off of
the rear of the ticket and looking for its reflection. White
ticket material is expected to reflect the light back while a properly
printed black mark is expected to absorb the light. Certain
materials (thin paper, label carrier paper and certain plastics) are
partially transparent and may fail to provide sufficient reflected
light. These materials also provide an environment where black
printing on the face of the ticket may absorb the light and be mistaken
by the printer as a black mark. Therefore, we recommend avoiding
the use of black inks in the path of the optical sensor on both the
front and rear of the ticket when using one of the special materials
discussed in this section.
We
recommend testing all new ticket designs involving plastics or thin
materials on your printers prior to purchasing production quantities.
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Inks and Operating Conditions
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The
maximum operating conditions (temperature and humidity) are limited by
the characteristics of the ticket material. All quality thermal
inks will operate properly in an office environment. However, the
use of inks on the thermal side of the ticket may drop the maximum
allowed relative humidity to as low as 70%.
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White Inks
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Opaque white inks should
never be used on the thermal side of the ticket. These inks are highly
abrasive to the print head.
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Black Inks
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Black inks should never
be used on the thermal side of the ticket. These inks are highly
abrasive to the print head.
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Plastic/Synthetic Tickets
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Plastics are naturally
slippery. Carefully evaluate all plastic materials to avoid
registration problems caused by poor traction. Under certain
conditions, plastic tickets may build up a disruptive amount of static
electricity. We recommend avoiding the printing of large batches
of unseparated plastic tickets. Cutting and/or tearing off the tickets
help to dissipate the static charge without disturbing the printer's
operation.
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Backcoated and Shiny Tickets
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Backcoated and shiny
materials are naturally slippery and should be avoided whenever
possible. The addition of inks to backcoated/shiny materials will
further degrade traction. Carefully evaluate all backcoated/shiny
materials in combination with the inks to avoid registration problems
caused by poor traction.
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Metallic Inks
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Metallic inks are more slippery than
regular inks, particularly when combined with backcoated/shiny
materials. Please use extreme care in evaluating the ink/paper
combination in regard to traction. Metallic inks are
translucent. The use of metallic inks on the thermal side should
be carefully evaluated as these inks will prevent the clear imaging of
the thermal printing.
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Embossing
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Thermal tickets should never be
embossed. Embossing destroys the smooth surface essential to
reliably transfer heat from the thermal head to the ticket.
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UV Ink Warning
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UV inks are being used
with increased frequency due to their inherently bolder colors and
glossiness. The glossy nature of UV ink frequently leads to paper feed
problems. Great care must be taken to avoid UV formulations that stick
to the print head. On plastic surfaces, the use of UV ink on the
rear can lead to slippage.
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Foils and Holograms
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We have noticed the
increased usage of foils and holograms. Please note that foils and
holograms must be carefully evaluated for compatibility with our
printers. Special consideration should be given in the areas of
abrasiveness (thermal side), stickiness (thermal side) and traction
(non-thermal side).
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Shiny Ink/Paper Warning
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We have noticed the
increased usage of shiny inks and paper. Please note that the black
mark must be printed with a dull ink to guarantee a non-glossy
appearance. The use of a glossy black mark will prevent the proper
operation of the optical sensors.
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Thick Ticket Materials
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All BOCA printers are
normally configured to print properly on .007" ticket stock. This
allows the printers to operate properly on ticket stock thicknesses
between .004" and .009" thick. Printing on thicker ticket materials may
result in poor quality printing. A ticket printed on a printer set for
thinner stock will image inconsistently, as if insufficient pressure
were placed on the ticket. Please notify BOCA prior to purchasing your
printer if you intend to print on thick tickets.
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Rounded
Corners
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Rounded corners are sometimes used on
credit card size magnetic tickets. The rounded corners at the
edge of the ticket may assist the user in placing the ticket into a
reading device. However, rounded corners may increase the chances
of a ticket jam in the printer. The use of rounded corners
internal to the ticket (particularly in the first 1.3 inches of the
ticket) is strongly discouraged. Internal rounded corners have a
tendency to bend up and get caught under the print head resulting in
print head damage.
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General Ticket Handling
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The face of thermal
ticket stock has a tendency to adhere to itself. This
is particularly noticeable on tickets packaged in insert boxes. As a precautionary measure, we recommend
gently hitting the individual ticket boxes on the counter prior to
inserting the tickets into the printer. For
best results, the insert box should be hit both on the front and the
rear. This procedure is generally
unnecessary with tickets packaged with paper banding.
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General Ticket Information
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BOCA manufactures a full
line of ticket products. All BOCA tickets
are produced using the best materials (papers, inks, etc), equipment
and manufacturing practices. In
consideration of these factors, we stand behind our tickets with our
free replacement print head policy (for printers exclusively using BOCA
tickets). Please note that this policy
only applies to tickets manufactured by BOCA. The
use of BOCA supplied materials in the manufacture of tickets by third
parties neither indicates the quality of the resulting tickets nor
implies that the resulting tickets are in any way approved by BOCA.
NOTE: 600 dpi print heads are not covered by the free head
replacement policy.
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General Label Information
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Die cut
labels are recommended for all BOCA printers. Butt cut labels are
not acceptable for use with cutters. Choose the release liner
carefully to avoid premature label removal. High release liners
are recommended.
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Magnetics
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While paper and ink characteristics are
important on any ticket, the quality of the ticket is more critical on
magnetic applications where any loss of registration can result in bad
magnetic encoding. Any slippage and/or adhesion caused by the use
of incompatible inks or paper will result in erratic printer operation.
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Ticket Analysis
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BOCA will analyze ticket
samples at a cost of $500.00 per sample. The tickets will be
evaluated for abrasiveness, thermal print quality and rear
traction. Other factors, such environmental compatibility, will
not be part of the standard evaluation procedure. Please note
that the analysis results relate only to the actual samples
evaluated. No certifications of ticket stock or ticket vendors
will be provided. The evaluation fee will be waived for
evaluations requested by active BOCA customers.
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