Patent ID: 8721202
Filing Date: 2014-05-13
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. A dual-sided direct thermal printer comprising: a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path and arranged to thermally image a first side of a media item being fed along the media feed path; a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, opposite the first side of the media feed path, and arranged to thermally image a second side of the media item, opposite the first side of the media item, which is being fed along the media feed path; an executable legacy one-sided printing application program which has been previously developed for use with only a single-sided direct thermal printer and for, when executed, activating a single-sided direct thermal printing function to control the first thermal print head on the first side of the media feed path to thermally image the first side of the media item being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the first side of the media item when it is desired to provide either single-sided printing of the media item or dual-sided printing of the media item; and a printing function controller for (i) activating a dual-sided direct thermal printing function to control the second thermal print head on the second side of the media feed path to thermally image the second side of the media item which is being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the second side of the media item when it is desired to provide dual-sided printing of the media item, and (ii) deactivating all dual-sided direct thermal printing functions when it desired to provide only single-sided printing of the media item.