Label ribbons are divided into thermal label ribbons and thermal transfer label ribbons. Different types of label ribbons have different printing principles.

The thermal label ribbon is composed of protective film, carbon tape, adhesive film, base tape film, color base film, and isolation layer. The label printer's print head is equipped with a semiconductor heating element. After the print head is heated and contacted with the thermal printing paper, it can print out the required image, because the image will be generated by a chemical reaction in the film after heating. Thermal labels are mostly used in scenarios such as express delivery, logistics, and supermarkets.

The thermal transfer label ribbon is mainly composed of TTR ribbon, label bottom and plastic shell. In the thermal transfer process, the thermal print head will heat the label ribbon, and the ink on the ribbon will be transferred to the label paper after melting, thereby forming text and images. Labels printed by thermal transfer are mainly used in scenarios such as electricity, engineering, warehousing, and fixed assets.