[bigvito]

Greetings

I am following this recipe

"However, to build your own thermal paper, you need not to go for complex calculations and measurements. You will just need some household materials and some sheets of paper to make your own thermal paper. To make your own thermal paper you will need papers, a mixing bowl, sugar, white glue, and water. After collecting all these materials, add three cups of water into the mixing bowl. The water should be warm enough, and the bowl should be large enough to dip the paper sheets. Then mix a cup of sugar in the water and let it dissolves totally. After dissolving the sugar in the water, add one fourth cup of glue (white glue) into the mixture. When the mixture will be ready, cover the paper sheets with the solution. Dip the sheets properly to wet them completely. Then the making process is complete, hang it to dry. - Borrowed from: http://www.buyrolls.com/blog/2011/07/converting-paper-to-thermal-paper/#sthash.yvu55OMa.dpuf"

However, it does not work. On A4 paper, it does not print at all. I am using a thermal printer.
Alls I know is that thermal paper is thermal because of some kind of chemicals that cover the paper which turn black in contact with something hot. I suppose I have messed up with the chemicals somehow.

If anyone could help me make my own thermal paper, that would be awesome.

[Arkcon]

I'm afraid you're the unfortunate victim of an internet hoax.  The formula you've quoted is in no way similar to the definition of thermal paper on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_paper  Even the procedure on your quoted page is sketchy -- if the paper after dipping isn't flat, you can use a household iron?  Wouldn't the iron, if hot, blacken all of the paper, if sugar and glue did work to make thermal paper?  I don't know if you'll find any of the "invisible inks" I played with as a kid useful.  But if you want to try, you could soak some paper in lemon juice, dry it, and see if your thermal printer can react it.

[bigvito]

thanks a lot for the response. Yes, this seemed too good to be true. No idea why anyone would post a hoax about this?
Could I buy a bottle of the chemicals needed and make it that way?
As far as I know, the factories who produce thermal paper run the paper through a pool with the correct chemical in it.

[billnotgatez]

Thermal paper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_paper
The above link is one of the few that does not mention sugar
The internet is loaded with sites that has sugar as a coating for thermal paper
If this is a hoax it is wide spread
But I am betting a good patent search would shed some light on the truth

EDIT
I just noticed the potential pun in the last sentence - I apologize (sort of)