Patent attributes
A printing apparatus (10) includes a carrier ribbon supply tool (12) and a carrier ribbon take-up spool (16), a print head (22) having a plurality of heating elements which are individually addressable and energizable selectively to remove pixels of marking medium from the carrier ribbon (14) during a printing operation, a first motor (13) which when the printing apparatus (10) is operated in a first configuration, moves the print head (22) during a printing operation relative to a substrate (15) on which an image is to be printed and when the (10) is operated in a second configuration, the first motor (13) moving the carrier ribbon (14) relative to the print head (22) during a printing operation, and there being a second motor (25) which is operative when the printing apparatus (10) is operated in the first and second configurations to advance carrier ribbon (14) from which pixels of marking medium have been removed in a previous printing operation, onto the carrier ribbon take-up spool (16), the printing apparatus (10) being configurable to either of the first and second printing apparatus (10) being configurable to either of the first and second configurations.
