Dumb Question

[reaper]

You posted just before me, and I agree there is a thermal reaction there somwhere. Considering that a fingernail can make a mark, it must be the impression causing the chemicals to react making heat, thus a mark. So IMAO they use thermal reactive paper but aren't a true thermal printer. Because they don't use any ink only scribes to cause the paper chemicals to react. Otherwise my fingernail is a thermal printer. Clear as mud right?

It states that it uses a heated stylet or thermal printer head.

I just experimented with the paper. Yes, rubbing your finger nail across it fast will produce a mark. But rubbing a paperclip did nothing to it. Once the paper clip was heated with a lighter, it wrote perfectly on the paper, until the heat dissipated.

Your finger nail does have heat in it. It is the same temp as your body, so it is acting as the heated stylet on the paper. If it was just a chemical reaction, then the cold paperclip should have made a mark too.

I think the people that make the paper know it best. They state that it takes a heated stylet to produce the markings.

 

[cmetalbend]

It states that it uses a heated stylet or thermal printer head.

I just experimented with the paper. Yes, rubbing your finger nail across it fast will produce a mark. But rubbing a paperclip did nothing to it. Once the paper clip was heated with a lighter, it wrote perfectly on the paper, until the heat dissipated.

Your finger nail does have heat in it. It is the same temp as your body, so it is acting as the heated stylet on the paper. If it was just a chemical reaction, then the cold paperclip should have made a mark too.

I think the people that make the paper know it best. They state that it takes a heated stylet to produce the markings.

Well the paper clip test seems conclusive, so my hats off to ya, good job.

 

[JJR512]

Ok after some in depth research most medical printers use somthing called Chemical/thermal paper substraits. Chemical (CF reacting to the CB) most likely, thermal likely is another ply between the two....But whether the printer(lifepack 12) is a thermal printer, or just uses thermal paper has yet to be answered. Like I mentioned Thermal printers use an ultraviolet light to cure the ink most of the time. But a person doesn't add ink to a lifepack 12 at all. Self imaging is a term used to describe a paper that needs no ink to mark, simply impression by another object(pen,fingernail, scribe, or what ever.) So I dunno, anybody else feel free to chime in.

Thermal printers don't use ink so the fact that the LP12 printer doesn't use ink doesn't rule out it being a thermal printer. But that's a moot point now as the issue has already been settled.

I can also find no mention of thermal printers requiring ultraviolet light. Thermal printers work using heat to melt an acid impregnated on the paper, which, when melted, reacts with a dye also impregnated on the paper; the dye colors the acid, and then after the heat is gone, it re-solidifies in its new color. When you're talking about thermal printers and ultraviolet light to cure the ink, I wonder if you're thinking of something different than the thermal printers that most of the rest of us were talking about.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

A fingernail on thermal paper is going to put a tremendous amount of pressure at a very small point, and when you add in the movement of the finger, the friction and heat you create could be immense, easily enough to activate the thermal paper.

 

[MasterIntubator]

The service manual references a thermal array printer.

:-/

//www.scribd.com/doc/14818120/DefibrillatorMonitor-LIFEPAK-12-Service-Manual

 

[MasterIntubator]

Thought I would post the link up there for you link heads...

( Not trying to steal your glory Deva.... I just didn't look back a page to see your post... my bad.. )
:wacko:

 

[ffemt8978]

Given the number of different responses, I'm going to have to say it wasn't a "dumb question" after all.

 

[Hockey]

Given the number of different responses, I'm going to have to say it wasn't a "dumb question" after all.

LOL Absolutely not. When I first saw the question I thought "Uh duh"...then I thought about it and went huh...never really thought about that :lol: