Why Receipt Paper Fades and How to Restore It

Usually after purchasing a product, we will receive a receipt paper as a proof of payment. This paper receipt is not only a record of the transaction, but can also be used to trace the transaction details when needed, such as returns, exchanges, warranties or other after-sales services. Therefore, keeping the information on the receipt clear and visible is crucial for handling related matters in the future. However, paper degrades over time, and the printed text on thermal receipt paper may fade, causing some problems. In this article, Sailing will explore the reasons why thermal receipt paper fade and provide some practical tips to help restore faded text and prevent future fading problems.

Receipt paper roll is a type of paper specially used for printing transaction records, commonly found in shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants and other places. When you buy products or consume in a regular store, you will get a transaction voucher with your consumption record, which is receipts paper. Thermal receipt printer paper is actually a type of thermal paper. It produces text or images by heating the thermal coating. It does not require traditional ink or carbon ribbon. In simple terms, it uses heat to create text or images on a paper roll.

Thermal paper receipts fading is mainly related to the properties of its thermal coating and the influence of the external environment. As mentioned above, thermal paper roll is coated with a special chemical on the surface. When it encounters the heat of the print head, the coating will react and show text or images. However, this thermal coating is very sensitive to the external environment and is easily affected by factors such as light, temperature, and humidity. When exposed to sunlight or strong light for a long time, ultraviolet rays will accelerate the decomposition of the coating and cause the handwriting to gradually fade. In addition, receipt printer paper is extremely sensitive to high temperature environments. Storing it in a high temperature place will accelerate the thermal reaction and the handwriting will become blurred or disappear. Humidity is also a key factor. Excessive humidity will destroy the stability of the thermal coating and make the handwriting easy to fade. Even frequent friction will cause the coating to wear and further accelerate fading. Therefore, to extend the storage time of the handwriting on thereceipt printer paper rolls, you must pay attention to avoid long-term exposure to light, maintain a suitable temperature and humidity, and minimize contact and friction with the outside world.

At this point, you may wonder why thermal paper receipts is so easy to fade, but everyone is still using it widely? That’s because it’s low cost, prints quickly, and has simple maintenance with no ink or ribbons required.

If your receipt paper rolls have faded, don't worry. Although it is difficult to restore a faded atm receipt paper, there are a few ways to try to enhance the faded text:

1. Scan and restore digitally

If the surface of the printable receipt paper has not discolored to black, yellow, or brown, simply scan the receipt in color. Open the image using Adobe Photoshop or other editing software and adjust the image settings to create a negative photo of the receipt.

2. Heat

Thermal paper can also be restored by gently heating the rreceipt paper thermal. You can use basic household equipment such as a hair dryer or a light bulb to heat it. After a few minutes, the faded numbers, text, or images will be restored. Remember to only heat from the back. No matter what the heat source is, don't try to heat the front of the receipt thermal paper because this will cause the entire thermal paper receipt to turn black.

3. Use a mobile app

You can also use a mobile app to restore ink and text on atm receipt paper rolls. To do this, just take a photo of the receipt and edit the photo using a mobile photo editing app such as LightX or PicsArt. You can also use a scanning app such as Tabscanner or Paperistic. Adjusting the contrast, pigment level, and brightness will make the text and images of the blank receipt paper clearly visible.

1. Avoid direct sunlight: Pos thermal receipt paper is very sensitive to ultraviolet rays, and long-term exposure to sunlight will accelerate fading. Therefore, when properly storing receipt paper , you should avoid direct sunlight and preferably place them in a cool, dark place.

2. Control the storage temperature: High temperature is one of the main reasons for the faded thermal paper receipt. Pos receipt paper should be stored in an environment with a suitable temperature and avoid contact with high-temperature objects. It is generally recommended to keep the storage temperature between 15-25 degrees Celsius.

3. Prevent moisture: Humidity will accelerate the chemical reaction of the thermal coating, causing the receipt paper to be blurred. Therefore, when storing paper roll receipt, ensure that the environment is dry and avoid exposure to high humidity.

4. Reduce friction and pressure: The coating on the surface of thermal paper roll is relatively fragile, and frequent friction or heavy pressure may cause the text to blur or disappear. It is recommended to store cash receipt paper separately in folders, protective covers or envelopes to avoid unnecessary wear and tear.

5. Avoid contact with chemicals: Cash register receipt paper should avoid direct contact with chemicals such as plastics, rubber, solvents, oils, etc., as these substances may react chemically with the heat-sensitive coating and accelerate the fading of the receipt.

From the above, we found that faded receipt paper are not terrible. If it is an important information voucher, we need to keep it properly, or try to repair it using the above methods. At the same time, when our wholesalers buy receipt paper, they must pay attention to buying high-quality bank receipt paper, select and buy branded receipt printing paper, so that even if there is a problem with the product immediately after receiving it, it can be properly solved. Sailingpaper is a thermal paper factory with its own brands thermal star, thermal queen, and perfect after-sales service. If you have any needs, please contact us!