Homebrew PCBs

> Yup, that's thermal paper - it's the same technology used for printing
> receipts at just about every point-of-sale system you'll ever come across.
> 
>
> The only real drawbacks are
> 1) It doesn't scale up to big sizes well, which doesn't matter when you're
> printing labels,
> 2) It doesn't do color or high resolution (or even grayscale), which
doesn't
> matter when you're printing shipping labels,
> 3) The images have bad shelf life, which doesn't matter when you're
printing
> shipping labels.


Actually, you can get 2 colour thermal, usually red & black.  The two
different inks react at different temperatures.  Not all that widespread
though, so 'doesn't do color' still holds.

They fade if kept in a hot place, or from ultraviolet light.  They'll last
longer if kept cool and dark, I have a habit of using the dockets as
bookmarks and they're still ok 5 or 10 years later.

If sitting out on your bench or a shelf then 6-12 months is about normal,
unless your bench is down in the dungeon.

You hear stories where people try to iron damp tickets or laminate them...
Use a docket as coaster for a while and see what the warmth from the coffee
cup does.

Tony