Patent ID: 7448813

Claim:
A heat transfer printing device comprising: a thermal print head; a feed spool for printing ribbon driven by a motor, entry guide rollers that direct the printing ribbon arriving from the feed spool toward the printing area where there is a printing roller on which slides the material to be printed; a take-up spool driven by a motor to which the printing ribbon is directed with the aid of guide rollers; and a cylindrical loading drum placed after the thermal print head, the loading drum having a surface and configured to have the printing ribbon adhere thereto, the loading drum have slits distributed longitudinally along a generatrix thereof and connected through orifices to Venturi tubes distributed axially inside the loading drum in which pressurized air is introduced to create a suction effect through the orifices and the slits on the printing ribbon that is thereby pressed against the surface of the loading drum, the printing ribbon thereby forming a loop by the rotation of the loading drum in order to maintain tension on the ribbon during printing.