Dick Thiel

For the crispest bar code printing, direct your attention to thermal-transfer tags and labels By Misty Byers Due to their excellent print quality—ideal for bar-coding applications—thermal-transfer sales have soared in the past years. And while industry professionals agree that the growth will continue, change is on the horizon. "The thermal label market is huge, and is going to get bigger," noted Dick Thiel, vice president, Badger Tag & Label, Random Lake, Wis. "but synthetic thermal is going to grow even faster." He noted that the steel industry will be the biggest source of the demand for thermal synthetics. "Fifteen years ago it was