It's print paper for sure, but it's not thermal. Instead, it's for 'spark printing'. The silvery coating is conductive, and the printer would zap current through the layer to burn away the coating revealing the underlying black background.
It's for use in the Sinclair ZX printer (compatible with ZX-81 and ZX Spectrum).
@gmc @AngelaScholder @jqheywood Fascinating - I had not heard of spark printing before this.
So I got the machine family correct, but the tech wrong. I wonder what made Timex decide to go with thermal paper for their printer when an existing printer was readily available.
@AngelaScholder @mbbrutman @jqheywood It never got widespread adoption, which is no surprise because of the disadvantages.
My bet is that it was cheaper than the alternatives at the time. That was the primary objective for Sinclair: make it affordable.
@gmc this looks like the paper used in the printer my father used with his ZX81(?).
That computer was bought around the same time I was born, leading to jokes about both of my parents getting something they wanted.
@wespi Wait, the gameboy printer uses this too? Also, there's a gameboy printer? Now I want one :)
It's paper for the Sinclair printer (used with the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum). It has a aluminium coating and the printer zaps a small voltage through the metal to make it turn black.
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