HOW IT PRINTS
Heat, not ink
Thermal paper is a base paper with a coating that changes colour when heated, so the printer only has to warm the right spots.
See the layersTHE PRINTER WITH NO INK
Printed with heat,
not ink.
The till receipt in your pocket was never inked.
Sort a receipt
NO INKjust heat and a coating
Thermal printers warm tiny spots on a coated paper, and a chemical developer in that coating makes the colour appear. Here is how it works, what changed in 2020, and what to do with the paper afterwards.
At a glance
- Heat makes the mark
- The coating holds the chemistry
- Councils differ on the bin
- Small slips, worth a closer look
≈ 1% by weight
BPA in thermal paper, before the limit
A 2019 Danish Environmental Protection Agency survey found BPA contents generally around 1 weight%, with examples from the literature of 0.5 to 3%.
TYPICAL CONTENT · DANISH EPA
0.02% by weight
Maximum BPA allowed in thermal paper
Since 2 January 2020, thermal paper containing BPA at 0.02% by weight or more cannot be supplied. The rule began in EU law and still applies in Great Britain.
THE LIMIT · EU AND GB
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
A big drop
in the limit.
How much developer the paper needs,
and how much BPA the rules now allow.
The Danish EPA notes the 0.02% limit is considerably lower than the amount needed for BPA to work as a developer, so makers switched to other developers. HSE says EU evidence suggests some switched to other bisphenols with similar hazards.
A QUICK RECEIPT SORT
What should happen
to this slip?
Pick the kind of receipt in your hand. The bar shows how much it matters to keep it, or to bin it the right way.
Based on GOV.UK record-keeping guidance and two English councils' recycling pages. Always check your own council's A to Z.
THE SHORT ANSWER
A coating does
the printing.
No cartridge, no ribbon.
The paper itself carries the chemistry.
THE CHEMISTRY
A developer inside
The coating holds a developer that makes the colour appear. For years the usual one was bisphenol A (BPA).
See the numbers
AFTERWARDS
Check your council
Councils treat thermal receipts differently: one sends them with mixed recycling, another to the general waste bin.
Sort a receipt
INSIDE A RECEIPT
Three layers
and a hot line.
The Danish EPA describes thermal paper as a simple stack. Here is what each part does when a till prints your slip.
The base paper
Thermal paper starts as a base paper with at least one coating on it. The coating is where the printing happens.
The heat-sensitive coating
This layer holds the developer. Warm a spot and the coating changes colour, so letters appear without any ink.
The print head
Heat from the printer's print head reaches the coating as the paper feeds out, and the print develops wherever it is warmed.
An optional top coat
Back and top coats are not always there. They are added as protection where the paper and print need to last longer.
WHY BPA WAS LIMITED
The cashier
was the concern.
In 2014 France asked for BPA in thermal paper to be restricted. Its dossier pointed to a risk for workers, primarily cashiers, and for consumers who handle receipts, and the EU adopted the 0.02% limit in December 2016.
BPA is classified as able to damage fertility. Its common replacement, bisphenol S, belongs to the same family of similar structures, and the Agency for UK REACH has called for evidence on which bisphenols are now used in thermal paper in Great Britain.
Questions
Questions people ask
Why does a receipt printer never need ink?
Thermal paper has a coating that changes colour when heated. The printer warms the right spots and the letters appear from the coating itself.
Is BPA still used in till receipts?
Since 2 January 2020, thermal paper with 0.02% BPA by weight or more cannot be supplied in the EU, and the same limit applies in Great Britain under UK REACH.
What replaced BPA?
The Danish EPA found bisphenol S and phenol-free developers in use alongside BPA in 2019. HSE says evidence suggests BPA may have been replaced by other bisphenols with similar hazard profiles.
Can I recycle till receipts?
It depends on your council. Cornwall takes shiny thermal receipts in mixed recycling but not with paper; Worcestershire says they cannot be recycled and go in the general waste or compost bin.
How long should I keep receipts for my tax return?
If you are self-employed, GOV.UK says to keep records, including receipts and till rolls, for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year.
Sources
Where the facts come from
- EUR-Lex: Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/2235 on bisphenol A in thermal paper
- HSE: RMOA for bisphenols, including their use in thermal paper (call for evidence)
- Danish Environmental Protection Agency: Survey and risk assessment of developers in thermal paper (2019)
- Cornwall Council: Thermal paper till receipts
- Worcestershire County Council: Till receipts
- GOV.UK: Business records if you're self-employed
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