Thermal Receipt Printers (for Customer Receipts) – Thermal receipt printers do not require ink. Instead they use a special paper that blackens when the thermal print-head applies heat to its surface.
The majority of customer receipt printers are thermal, however they are not suitable for high-heat environments (e.g. Kitchens).
Impact Printers (for Kitchen Environments) – Impact printers use ink to print receipts and typically print in both black and red.
These printers are commonly used in kitchen environments to print food orders due to their resilience to high-heat, unlike thermal printers, and – to ensure the kitchen staff are aware of new orders – the loud noise that is produced when they print.