Patent ID: 7478956

Claim:
A printer for selectively printing on continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheets and ordinary continuous sheets that have no heat-sensitive adhesive, the printer comprising: a printing unit having printing means for printing on one surface of a continuous sheet and first transporting means for transporting the continuous sheet in a forward direction; a cutter unit disposed downstream of the printing unit and that cuts the printed continuous sheet to a predetermined length; a thermal activation unit disposed downstream of the cutter unit and having heating means for heating the other surface of the continuous sheet and second transporting means for transporting the continuous sheet in the forward direction; means defining a storage space between the cutter unit and the thermal activation unit in which a length of the continuous sheet can be temporarily accumulated; detecting means for detecting whether the sheet is a continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheet or an ordinary continuous sheet; and control means for controlling operation of the thermal activation unit so that both the heating means and the second transporting means are operated in response to detection of the continuous heat-sensitive adhesive sheet and so that the second transporting means but not the heating means is operated in response to detection of the ordinary continuous sheet.