BPA is a man-made industrial chemical. It is the main component of polycarbonate plastics and is commonly used in products such as water bottles, food containers, and eyeglass lenses. Not only that, but BPA is also the ‘color developer’ of thermal paper, because the thermal paper used is not printed with ink, but is coated with a chemical that changes color when it is heated, resulting in a clear, fast display.
Studies have shown that BPA is an endocrine disruptor that mimics hormones in the body, thereby affecting the body's hormonal balance. Not only that, but BPA may also affect brain development, a problem that is particularly evident in infants and children. In addition, it can cause cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems. In order to reduce the potential risks of BPA, many countries and regions have taken steps to restrict its use in food and baby products. Therefore, in view of the widespread use of thermal paper and the exposure of BPA therein, it is important to identify whether BPA is still present in thermal paper.
BPA-free thermal paper usually appears to be a more natural white or slightly greenish color, whereas BPA-added paper appears to be too white. This is due to the large amount of fluorescent whitening agents added to the surface, and if the surface of the paper reflects a lot of light, it may also be due to excessive fluorescent agents.
We can also check whether the paper coating is uniform to detect whether there is also BPA, this is because too much phosphor will not only make the color too white, but also make the surface of the paper become rough and uneven or handwriting appears blurred.
We can heat the back of the paper with a lighter and observe the color change. If it turns black-green and the color block is uniform, it means that the quality is good; if it turns brown, it means that the thermal formula is not very reasonable and may contain BPA.
Use a highlighter pen on the printed thermal paper and leave it in the sun. The paper which does not contain BPA will darken more slowly, while the paper containing BPA will darken quickly.
The presence of BPA can also be detected by specialised chemical tests such as spectroscopy, chromatography, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and mass spectrometry. Although these methods are demanding, they are also the most accurate.
In short, through the above ways, we can more accurately identify the thermal paper whether there is also BPA, we can take appropriate measures to protect our own health and safety, with the progress of the level of technology, the emergence of BPA-free thermal paper, I believe that our healthy life will be more and more protection.
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