How to Restore Thermal Receipts
- 1). Make a photocopy of your receipt. Adjust your copier's settings to produce a "negative" image. Make a copy of the negative image as dark as possible so that even the faintest information will appear. Even though you can no longer see any printing with your naked eye, it's possible that it still exists in some form.
- 2). Turn your blow dryer to "low." Hold it about 8 inches away from your receipt for several minutes. At low levels, heat reverses the effects of extreme exposure on your paper, in both directions. In other words, your text will turn white and the rest of the receipt will get blacker, similar to the negative of a photograph.
- 3). Bring your receipt to the appropriate merchant, regardless of how well you restored it. Some businesses are able to reprint receipts based on transaction numbers and even the credit card used for purchase. At the very least, a manager may take note of your diligence and honor your return based on seeing even the slightest amount of information.
