Patent ID: 8109683

Claim:
A method for printing on a strip-shaped medium having one surface to be printed and a self-adhesive coating on the other surface thereof, the method being performed using a printing device that comprises: a supply unit for keeping available the strip-shaped medium; a printing unit comprising: a driven transport roller to transport the medium and to guide the other surface of the medium during said transport; and a print head arranged opposite to the transport roller, forming a passage gap for the medium therebetween; a separating device at a removal point where part of the medium is separated, the removal point being located at a given distance from the passage gap; and a support roller, rotatably supported and arranged between the printing unit and the supply unit; the method comprising the steps of: transporting the medium, for a given time period defining a transport interval, along a transport path in a longitudinal direction thereof, from the supply unit through the printing unit and the passage gap to the removal point, the transport defining a transport direction and a leading portion of the medium in the transport direction, guiding the surface intended to be printed past the print head and guiding the other surface over the transport roller, detaching the leading portion from the medium at the removal point; repeating the transporting step for a plurality of transport intervals; and reversing the direction of the medium, for at least one of the plurality of transport intervals, in a reverse transport path in the direction opposite to the transport direction and over a length that does not exceed the distance from the passage gap, such that, if reversing the transport direction does not detach the medium tangentially from the transport roller, then the medium deflects from the transport path towards, and contacts, the support roller, which assists in detaching the medium from the transport roller.