Patent ID: 7891564

Claim:
A label creating system comprising: a terminal device; and a plurality of label creating apparatuses that can be connected to the terminal device and can removably accommodate a cartridge holding a tape-typed printing medium, wherein the terminal device comprises: a storage device that stores a label data creating and editing program; a label data creating apparatus that creates label data in accordance with execution of the label data creating and editing program; a data requesting device that can request data on a medium type of the printing medium to each of the label creating apparatuses to be connected when the label data creating and editing program starts and can continuously request data in a predetermined interval of time while the label data creating and editing program is running; a first receiving device that can receive the data on the medium type sent from each of the label creating apparatuses in response to the request from the data requesting device, a determination device that can determine one of the label creating apparatuses to which the label data can be sent on the basis of the data on the medium type received from the first receiving device; and a first sending device that can send the label data to one of the label creating apparatuses which is determined by the determination device, and each of the label creating apparatuses comprises: a discrimination sensor that can discriminate the medium type of the printing medium to be held in the cartridge; a second sending device that can send the data on the medium type discriminated by the discrimination sensor in response to the request from the terminal device; a second receiving device that can receive the label data sent from the terminal device; and a label printing apparatus that prints on the printing medium on the basis of the label data received by the second receiving device, wherein the discrimination sensor comprises one or more switches disposed on the label printing apparatus; and the one or more switches being selectively engaged by the cartridge for holding the printing medium; whereby the terminal device automatically discriminates one or more of: a material type of the printing medium; a width of the printing medium; whether the printing medium is an unfixed length roll sheet or a die cut sheet; and a pitch size of encoder marks disposed on the printing medium.