The core is what we call the internal cylinder of a ribbon. There are various types of cores, depending on the material they are made of (paper or plastic), their protrusion from the ink (flush or protruding core) and their general characteristics (for example, presence or absence of one or more notches).
At times we are requested to sell an additional “empty” core, meaning there is no ink or ribbon wound on it. The double core can be attached at the very end of the ribbon or just sold separately. But why is a second core so useful?
This empty core must be inserted in a part of the thermal transfer printer called take-up roll, which is opposite to the supply roll. While in the supply part the ribbon is inserted to be unwound for the printing, the take-up roll’s function is to ordinately rewind and recover the used ribbon. At the end of the printing process, this core can be simply removed from the printer to get rid of the waste.
In conclusion, using a second core is essential to guarantee efficiency and ease the printing process. In fact, this little but important part makes the winding and unwinding of the ribbon cleaner and ensures a longer life span for your printer, as well as an easier remotion of waste.
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