Different Technologies:
A number of different print technologies are available to print barcodes.

There are two main categories:
Impact and non-impact printing techniques.
Impact printing includes dot matrix and drum (or formed character) printers.
Non-impact printing includes thermal direct, thermal transfer, electrostatic (laser printers), laser etching and ink jet printers.

There are four basic types of barcode printers:
Dot Matrix, Inkjet, Laser, and Thermal.
Barcodes can be printed on documents, or more frequently, adhesive labels, tags or other media, even ID bracelets.

Dot Matrix Printer:
Dot matrix print technology is a longstanding method of producing barcodes on-site. The barcode image is produced by hundreds of dots printed in a matrix to make the series of lines and spaces commonly referred to as a barcode.
Advantages:
Printers are easily accessible and a less expensive option of printing
Various surfaces can be used to print on
Multi-pass ribbons can reduce costs for ribbons and label materials

Ink Jet Printer:
Ink Jet printing is usually used in high production settings where production of barcodes and human readable fonts need to be reproduced at high rates of speed.
Advantages:
Direct ink jet printing requires only one step to finish the carton or readable material, where other forms may require adhesion of a label to the finished product.

Laser Printers:
A laser printer works much like a photocopier. Charging particles of the paper that then attract ions from the ink. These two particles are then bonded together by the heat and pressure of the drum.
Advantages:
Print high-quality text and graphics on paper documents and can double as a document printer when not being used to print barcodes.
Density and resolution are relatively high, allowing the production of scanable barcodes at any wavelength when read with an infrared scanner.

Thermal Printers:
Thermal printing includes Direct Thermal and Thermal Transfer

Direct thermal printing is an older technology designed for use with copier and fax machines that utilizes chemically coated paper. The direct thermal printhead consists of a long, linear array of tiny resistive heating elements that are arranged perpendicular to the flow of the paper. Each printhead element locally heats an area directly below it on the paper. The image is produced by rows of dots caused by chemical reactions that are formed as the media passes beneath the active edge of the printhead.
Advantages:
Produces sharp print quality with great scanability
Ideal for applications with a short-shelf life such as shipping labels and receipts
Simple to operate and inexpensive to maintain – no ink, toner or ribbon to monitor or replace.
Batch or single label printing is available with minimal waste.

Thermal Transfer use the same basic technology as direct thermal printers, but replace chemically coated paper with a non-sensitized face stock and a special, inked ribbon. A durable, polyester ribbon film coated with dry thermal transfer ink is placed between the thermal printhead and label.
The thermal printhead transfers the ink onto the label surface, where it cools and anchors to the media surface. The polyester ribbon is then peeled away, leaving behind a stable, passive image.
Advantages:
Produces long life scanability
Produce batch or single print labels with minimum waste
Long-term maintenance is low compared to dot-matrix, inkjet, and laser
Print on a high variety of media stock High durability

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