DEAS 1058: 2021 
ICS 85.080.01  
 
© EAC 2021                                                                                                                              First Edition 2021  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Thermal -sensitive paper roll for printers —Specification   
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 
 DEAS 1058:2021  
ii © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
This EAC document is copyright -protected by EAC. While the reproduction of this document by 
participants in the EAC standards development process is permitted without prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
any other purpose without prior written permission from EAC.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document for the purpose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community  2021 — All rights reserved  
East African Community   
P.O. Box 1096 , 
Arusha  
Tanzania  
Tel: + 255 27 2 162100  
Fax: + 255 27 2162190  
E-mail: eac@eachq.org  
       Web: www.eac -quality.net  
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . DEAS 1058:2021  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
Introduction  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  v 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4.3 Dimensions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  3 
5 Packaging and Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  4 
5.1 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
5.2 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
5.2.1  Labelling on a unit roll  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................  4 
5.2.2  Labelling on bulk package  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  5 
6 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  5 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  6 
 
 DEAS 1058:2021  
iv © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards  Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organization s in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards ar e circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for develop ment of East Africa n Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 065, Paper and Paper 
Products.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for i dentifying any or all such patent rights.  DEAS 1058:2021  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  v 
 Introduction  
Thermal Printing Technology provides for instant printing on command. This is very important at point s of sale  
(POS) such as restaurants, kiosk, hotels, gas stations, supermarkets, and for labels, gami ng, ticket & tags and 
other applications of similar nature   
The use of roll paper can also reduce the amount of paper used and improve performance by printing a page 
equal to the length necessary to present the printed information.  
Choosing the right therm al paper is very important given that they have different thermal sensitivities and 
constructions.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1058: 2021 
 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  1 
 Thermal -sensitive paper r oll for printers —Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies  requirements , sampling  and test methods for thermal -sensitive  
paper used in places where information has to be printed out quickly and economically  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of th is document.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
ASTM D 6789, Standard Test Method for Accelerated Light Aging of Printing and Writi ng Paper by Xenon -Arc 
Exposure Apparatus  
ISO 186 , Paper and board — Sampling to determine average quality  
ISO 287, Paper and board — Determination of moisture content of a lot — Oven -drying method  
ISO 536, Paper and board — Determination of grammage  
ISO 19 24-2, Paper and board — Determination of tensile properties — Part 2: Constant rate of elongation 
method (20 mm/min)  
ISO 2470 -1, Paper, board and pulps — Measurement of diffuse blue reflectance factor — Part 1: Indoor 
daylight conditions (ISO brightness)  
ISO 2471, Paper and board — Determination of opacity (paper backing) — Diffuse reflectance method  
ISO 4046 (all parts) , Paper, board, pulps and related terms — Vocabulary  
ISO 5627, Paper and board — Determination of smoothness (Bekk method)  
ISO 6588 -1, Pape r, board and pulps — Determination of pH of aqueous extracts — Part 1: Cold extraction  
ISO 8791 -2, Paper and board — Determination of roughness/smoothness (air leak methods) — Part 2: 
Bendtsen method  
ISO 11093 -4, Paper and board — Testing of cores — Part 4 : Measurement of dimensions  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions and those in ISO 4046 (all parts) shall 
apply   
thermal printing  
process where words or images are produced on the thermal paper by m eans of direct heat transmission  DEAS 1058:2021  
2 © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  The base paper shall be manufactured from bleached chemically processed cellulose fibres or 
recycled fibres (or both) or any other material that will ensure compliance with the requirements given in Table 
1. 
4.1.2  Thermal paper shall be made of a n acceptable  white , glossy paper unless specified otherwise.  
4.1.3 Thermal paper shall be coated on one side or both sides with a heat sensitive coating material.  
4.1.4  The papers shall b e free from tears, holes, dust, wood splinters, blemishes, slime spots, creases and 
other visible defects and shall be uniform in texture.  
4.1.5  The web paper shall be evenly, squarely and tightly wound on the core.  
4.1.6  The web shall have smooth cut edge s, and the roll shall be so wound as to give smooth end -faces 
that are free from dust and loose fibres and debris.  
4.1.7  The free (outer) end of the paper shall be attached to the roll with glue, a small self adhesive tape or 
sticker or other acceptable se aling methods  
4.1.8  The core shall be of a material that is suitable for the purpose and such that the core will not deform 
or collapse under normal conditions of handling, transportation, storage and usage.  
4.2 Specific requirements  
4.2.1  The physical and  chemical properties of thermal -sensitive paper rolls shall comply with the 
requirements set out in Table 1.  
4.2.2  The type of thermal -sensitive  paper rolls shall be such that optical density, image density and image 
life under proper storage conditions ar e visible for a minimum of 3 years without disappearing.  
4.2.3  The thermal -sensitive  paper shall be capable to withstand temperature between 100  0C to 600  0C 
Table 1 — Requirements of thermal paper  
S/No  Parameter  Requirement  Test Method  
i a Grammage, g/m2 ,Min..  40 ISO 536  
ii Tensile strength, 
N/15 mm, min.  MD 35 ISO 1924 -2 
CD 16 
iii Opacity (%), min.  78 ISO 2471  
iv Moisture Content, %  4.0 – 8.5 ISO 287  
v pH 5.0  — 8.5 ISO 6588 -1 
vi Bendtsen Roughness, mL/min  150 – 500 ISO 8791 -2 
vii Smoothness, coated side (Bekk, 
front), s, min.  200 ISO 5627  
viii Brightness, % min.  Before 
aging  75 ISO 2470 -1 
After aging  60 DEAS 1058:2021  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  3 
 ix 
Optical density before 
aging  Light 
resistance, 
5 000 Lux, 
24 h 
>1.33  
ASTM D 6789  Heat 
resistance, 
60 0C/24h  
Moisture 
resistan ce, 
60 0C/ 
90%/R.H 
24h  
x Optical density after 
aging  Light 
resistance, 
5 000 Lux, 
24 h 
>1.25  Heat 
resistance, 
60 0C/24h  
Moisture 
resistance, 
60 0C/ 
90%/R.H 
24h  
aTolerance of ± 5% on declared value above the minimum   
 
4.3 Dimensions  
4.3.1  When tested in accordance with ISO 11093 -4, the thermal -sensitive  paper shall meet the 
requirements of the declared dimensions  
4.3.2 The length of the core shall not exceed the nominal width of the paper roll nor shall the core be 
recessed from either end -face of the roll by more than 1.5 mm.  
4.3.3 The core shall have a maximum wall thickness of  3 mm.  
4.3.4 Length based dimensions shall be designated as  W × L  × C, C while diameter based dimensions shall 
be designated as W × D  × C, C (See Figure 1)  
 DEAS 1058:2021  
4 © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Figure  1 — illustration of thermal paper components  
Where ; 
W is the nominal width of the roll, measured in millimetres and subject to a tolerance of ± 1.0 mm  
L is the nominal length of paper roll, measured in meters  and subject to a tolerance of ± 0.2 m  
C, C  is the nominal inside diameter of the core on which the paper is wound, and is in millimeters 
expressed to a single decimal  and subject to a tolerance of + 0.5 mm  
D is the nominal diameter of the roll, measured in millimetres and subject to a tolerance of ± 1.5 mm  
5 Packaging and Labelling  
5.1 Packaging  
5.1.1   Individual rolls shall be wrapped completely  
5.1.2  Thermal -sensitive  paper rolls shall be packed in an upright position (chimney stacked) in suitable  
packages that are rigid enough to prevent damage to  the contents during handling, transportation and storage 
of the products.  
5.1.3 Thermal -sensitive  paper rolls shall be supplied in packages containing the same type and size of the 
rolls.  
5.1.4 The package used shall prevent thermal -sensitive  paper rolls from being exposed to moisture, dust, 
dirt and other hazards during transportation and storage.  
5.1.5 The package shall be of such quality and strength as to prevent bursting, tearing, distortion or 
opening - up from the weight of thermal -sensitive  paper r olls.  
5.2 Labelling  
5.2.1  Labelling on a unit roll  
Each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked either in English, Kiswahili or French or combination.   
a) manufacturer’s name , address and/ or trademark;  
b) name  of the pr oduct ( i.e. “Thermal -sensitive pap er roll for printers ”);  
c) thermal paper dimensions  including width, inside diameter, roll diameter for diameter -based rolls and 
width, inside diameter and paper length for leng th-based rolls;  
d) paper grammage ; 
e) date of manufacture of the rolls;  
f) storage instru ctions;  
g) country of origin ; and   
h) any other information requested by the purchaser.  DEAS 1058:2021  
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  5 
 5.2.2  Labelling on bulk package  
Each package shall be legibly and indelibly marked either in English, Kiswahili or French or combination  with 
the following information:   
a) manu facturer’s name , address and/ or trademark;  
b) name  of the pr oduct (i.e. “Thermal -sensitive paper roll for printers ”);  
c) thermal paper dimensions  including width, inside diameter, roll diameter for diameter -based rolls and 
width, inside diameter and paper leng th for length -based rolls;  
d) paper grammage;  
e) date of manufacture of the rolls;  
f) number of rolls in the package;  
g) gross weight;  
h) batch number;  
i) storage instructions;  
j) country of origin ; and   
k) any other information requested by the purchaser.  
6 Sampling   
 Sampling  shall be done in accordance with ISO 186  
 DEAS 1058:2021  
6 © EAC  2021 – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] TBS/CDC -10 (6437) P3 Thermal paper rolls — Specification   
 DEAS 1058: 2021   
 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved