Patent ID: 8721201

Claim:
A printing apparatus comprising: a timing device that times passage of time; a memory device that stores a plurality of time expression patterns that are each formats for indicating a plurality of different times, wherein at least one of the plurality of time expression patterns indicates at least two distinct times of the plurality of different times with different numbers of characters; an expression pattern setting device that selects a current expression pattern from the plurality of time expression patterns stored in the memory device; a print-signal-receipt-date obtaining device that obtains a timed result from the timing device with respect to a receipt date of a print signal upon receipt of the print signal; a first date print data generating device that generates first date print data based on the current time expression pattern set by the expression pattern setting device and the timed result obtained by the print-signal-receipt-date obtaining device; a second date print data generating device that generates a plurality of second date print data, the second date print data representing times spaced at predetermined intervals within a predetermined period of time that starts from the timed result, each of the second date print data based on the current time expression pattern set in the expression pattern setting device; a maximum printing range identifying device that calculates printing ranges for a character size for the first date print data and for each of the plurality of second date print data and identifies a largest print image from among the first date print data and plurality of second date print data, the largest print image having a maximum printing range from the printing ranges thus calculated: a size setting device that sets a printing character size by iteratively reducing the character size of the largest print data until the printing range of the largest print image fits within a predetermined printing area of a single fixed size provided on each printing medium onto which a date is to be printed, and then sets the character size as the printing character size for characters comprising the first date print data and the plurality of second date print data; a controller; and a printing device, wherein the controller controls the printing device to print the first date print data and each of the plurality of second date print data onto the predetermined printing area of respective pieces of print medium with the current time expression pattern and the printing character size.