Chemical-Free Resin Ribbon

CW-66 is our chemical-free resin grade, and it suits cleanroom and food-contact labelling. In the grade table it is listed for polyester (PET) labels, polypropylene (PP) labels and cleanroom-grade labels. It is the only grade listed for cleanroom-grade labels. Like every resin grade, it is a ribbon for synthetic labels, not paper.

Resin is a hard polymer ink, and printer makers recommend it for synthetic materials with harsh chemical exposure or heavy abrasion. CW-66 gives you that resin type with the chemical-free description, which is why it is the grade to raise first when a buyer asks about the ribbon itself and not only about the label.

Next to CW-28, CW-66 lists the same PET and PP, drops polyimide and film substrates, and adds cleanroom-grade labels. Next to CW-33, CW-66 lists PP and cleanroom-grade labels where CW-33 lists polyimide and metal-effect labels, and CW-33 is the grade we name for sterilisation.

The choice follows the requirement. If a buyer asks for a chemical-free ribbon, or the labels are for a cleanroom or for food-contact labelling, start with CW-66. If the label is polyimide or film, CW-66 is not listed, and CW-28 is. If the labels go through sterilisation, test CW-33. If none of these applies, CW-28 is the standard resin grade and a free sample of each will show which fits your label.

A buyer who asks for a chemical-free ribbon often asks for paperwork too. MSDS for CW-66 is available on request. We do not state a regulatory approval or rating for it on this page, and a label standard usually approves a combination of label material, adhesive and ribbon rather than a ribbon alone, which is how Zebra describes its own approvals.

So send us the requirement as your buyer wrote it, along with your label material. We tell you what we can supply and what you will need to test, and the free sample lets your label supplier or your own lab run the check before you order volume.

CW-66 is resin, so it needs more heat and a slower print speed than wax or wax-resin. TSC notes the higher transfer temperature resin needs, and Zebra says resin runs at the lowest speeds. Raise darkness in small steps and stop at the lowest setting that gives a barcode that scans, since too high a setting can burn through the ribbon and wear the printhead.

CW-66 is slit in widths between 25mm and 160mm and in lengths from 50m to 600m, on half-inch or 1-inch cores, notched if needed, wound inside or outside. Standard sizes have no minimum order and are dispatched the same day.