Numerical study of the heat transfer characteristics of wide-format thermal print head

Abstract

Thermal printing technology has achieved remarkable success in the realm of portable printing due to its advantages such as high printing speed, easy maintenance, and energy efficiency. Nevertheless, there have been no reports on the application of thermal print technology in the booming field of wide-format printing. This article presents the design and construction of a primordial wide-format thermal printer. The corresponding heat transfer model used to design it is proposed subsequently, and the accuracy of the model is validated through experimental methods. The heat transfer characteristics of the wide-format thermal printer during operation are investigated using the model, providing essential technical support for the advancement and proliferation of thermal printing technology in the wide-format printing domain. The findings demonstrate that, during stable operation of the wide-format thermal printer, 84.7% of the heat generated by the heat generator is effectively transferred to the protective film for dye melting, while 13.3% of the heat is dissipated as waste heat to the glass substrate. The temperature distribution in the splicing area is greatly affected due to the non-working heat generation dots. Furthermore, the heat flux between adjacent heat generation dots is nonnegligible and exerts a mutual effect on the respective temperatures.