Thermal vs Bond Till Rolls: Which Does Your Printer Use? (The Fingernail Test)

Thermal rolls print with heat and need no ink. Bond rolls are plain paper and need an ink ribbon. To tell them apart, scratch the paper firmly with your fingernail: if it leaves a dark grey line, it is thermal; if nothing happens, it is bond. Card machines and modern EPOS receipt printers take thermal. Impact kitchen printers, like the Epson TM-U220 and Star SP700, take bond paper with a ribbon.

Getting this wrong is the most common reason a new box of rolls comes out blank. Here is how to be sure before you order.

In this guide

• How do I tell if a till roll is thermal or bond?
• What is the difference between thermal and bond?
• Which printers take which paper?
• Why do kitchens still use bond paper?
• What do 1 ply, 2 ply and 3 ply mean?
• FAQ

How do I tell if a till roll is thermal or bond?

Three quick checks, and the first one takes about five seconds.

1. The fingernail test. Pull out a bit of paper and scratch it quickly and firmly with your nail. Thermal paper reacts to the friction heat and leaves a dark grey or black line. Bond paper shows nothing.
2. Look inside the printer. If there is an ink ribbon cassette, it is an impact printer and it takes bond. No ribbon means thermal.
3. Feel the paper. Thermal is smooth with a slight sheen on the printed side. Bond feels like ordinary office paper, matte on both sides.

One more clue: if you have old receipts that turned dark after sitting in a hot car or near a window, those were thermal.

What is the difference between thermal and bond paper?

	Thermal	Bond (plain)
How it prints	Heat from the print head darkens a coating	Pins strike an ink ribbon onto the paper
Needs a ribbon?	No	Yes
Fingernail test	Leaves a dark mark	No mark
Feel	Smooth, slight sheen	Like office paper
Print speed and noise	Fast and quiet	Slower, with the familiar chatter
Near heat	Darkens, can become unreadable	Unaffected
Copies	Single copy only	1, 2 or 3 ply for carbonless copies
Two-colour print	Black only (on standard paper)	Black and red with a two-colour ribbon
Used in	Card machines, EPOS receipt printers	Kitchen impact printers, some older tills

Neither is "better". They suit different jobs, and your printer decides which one you need. You cannot switch a printer from one to the other.

Which printers take thermal and which take bond?

• Card machines (all brands): thermal, usually 57x40mm. See what roll your card machine takes.
• EPOS receipt printers such as the Epson TM-T20, TM-T88 and TM-M30, Star TSP100 and TSP143, and the Clover Station: thermal, 80mm.
• Kitchen impact printers such as the Epson TM-U220 and Star SP700: bond paper, 76mm, plus an ink ribbon.
• Older electronic cash registers from Casio, Sharp and SAM4s: could be either. Check for a ribbon.
• Delivery app terminals for Deliveroo and Just Eat: thermal.

A useful rule of thumb from the till roll size chart: 76mm rolls are almost always bond for an impact printer, and 80mm rolls are almost always thermal. They look similar on the shelf, so double-check before ordering.

Why do kitchens still use bond paper?

If thermal is faster and quieter, you might wonder why so many Irish kitchens still run impact printers. There are three good reasons.

• Heat. Thermal paper darkens when it gets hot. A docket clipped above a grill or fryer can turn grey and unreadable mid-service. Bond paper does not care.
• Copies. With 2 ply or 3 ply rolls, one print gives the kitchen, the pass and the front of house a copy each. Thermal cannot do that.
• Red print. A black and red ribbon lets the printer highlight allergies, modifications or "no onions" in red, which is hard to miss on a busy line.

The trade-off is the ribbon. It fades over time and needs replacing, so keep a spare in the drawer.

What do 1 ply, 2 ply and 3 ply mean?

Ply is the number of paper layers on the roll. It only applies to bond paper.

• 1 ply: one sheet, one copy. The cheapest option when a single docket is enough.
• 2 ply: white top copy with a carbonless yellow copy underneath. One for the kitchen, one for the pass.
• 3 ply: white, pink and yellow. Common in busy restaurants and trade counters where three people need the same order.

Carbonless means there is no loose carbon sheet. The pressure of the print pins transfers the image to the layers below.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I put bond paper in a thermal printer?

Nothing prints. A thermal printer has no ink, so plain bond paper comes out blank.

Can I use thermal paper in an impact printer?

It is not what the printer is designed for, and you lose the benefits of bond: no carbonless copies, and dockets that darken near kitchen heat. Always use the bond paper your impact printer is built for.

How do I know if my receipt paper is thermal?

Scratch it firmly with your fingernail. A dark grey mark means thermal. No mark means bond.

Is thermal paper cheaper than bond?

Per roll they are similar, but thermal needs no ribbon, so running costs are usually lower. Bond is worth it where you need copies, red print or heat resistance.

What is bond paper in a till roll?

Bond is plain, uncoated paper, like lightweight office paper. It prints with an ink ribbon in an impact (dot matrix) printer.

Why is my kitchen docket going black?

It is thermal paper reacting to heat from the grill or pass lights. Switching to a bond paper impact printer, or moving the printer away from the heat, solves it.