Comment by whalee
2 days ago
Cool idea!
I would note there are some known health hazards in handling thermal-paper receipts(BPA/BPS)[1] with your bare hands if you do so often. I don't know much beyond this, I would look into it.
[1] https://www.pca.state.mn.us/business-with-us/bpa-and-bps-in-...
You can buy phenol-free thermal paper, it’s about 20% more expensive where I live but much safer for you, and the quality is just as good.
Yes, safety of thermal paper is the first issue that comes to mind.
Secondly, IME thermal print can fade to nothing after 1-10 years. So these are specifically for short-ish-term use. Not for labeling something that is supposed to last a long time.
Yes, very true. It's paper with bisphenol. These papers are now banned in Europe, but not in the USA.
You can also use dot matrix / impact receipt printers, they work in the same way, just with an ink reel. So no special paper needed.
They are used in kitchens where thermal paper obviously won't work. Other advantages are they can usually print two colours: black and red. And the sound is rather satisfying :-)
Right, epiphenols. And despite some BPA-free options there are many alerts about the risks of the replacements. Maybe is time for a cool old style matrix receipt printer using regular paper?
It's come up every time something related to thermal printing has been mentioned on HN lately, but this is honestly great stuff if you're in Germany: https://www.oekobon.de/
These non-poisonous blue receipts have the added benefit of being able to be marked with a fingernail, which is nifty if you're using them to print your shopping list, crossing things off is very satisfying.
Are these the ones that Lidl use?
And many other retailers, yes!
Good point, but luckily it's pretty easy now to find BPA free paper.