Patent ID: 8599229

Claim:
A roll-fed duplex thermal printing system, comprising: a supply roll of thermal imaging receiver having dye receiving layers on first and second sides of a substrate; a printing path; a reversing path; a diverter having a first position and a second position, wherein when the diverter is in the first position thermal imaging receiver is directed from the supply roll into the printing path and thermal imaging receiver is directed from the reversing path into the printing path, and when the diverter is in the second position the thermal imaging receiver is directed from the supply roll into the reversing path; a thermal printhead positioned along the printing path; a donor ribbon feeding from a donor supply roll past the thermal printhead to a donor take-up roll, the donor ribbon including one or more donor patches, each having a respective donor material; a cutter positioned between the supply roll and the reversing path; and a printer controller that controls components of the thermal printing system to perform the following sequence of operations: positioning the diverter into the first position; feeding the thermal imaging receiver from the supply roll into the printing path such that the first side of the thermal imaging receiver is oriented to face the thermal printhead; moving the thermal imaging receiver and the donor ribbon past the thermal printhead, during which time the thermal printhead applies heat pulses to transfer colorant from the donor ribbon onto the first side of the thermal imaging receiver, thereby printing a first-side image; winding the thermal imaging receiver back onto the supply roll; positioning the diverter into the second position; feeding the thermal imaging receiver from the supply roll partially into the reversing path; using the cutter to cut a portion of the thermal imaging receiver including the printed first-side image from the supply roll; feeding the cut thermal imaging receiver fully into the reversing path; positioning the diverter into the first position; feeding the cut thermal imaging receiver into the printing path such that the second side of the thermal imaging receiver is oriented to face the thermal printhead; moving the cut thermal imaging receiver and the donor ribbon past the thermal printhead, during which time the thermal printhead applies heat pulses to transfer colorant from a donor ribbon onto the second side of the thermal imaging receiver, thereby printing a second-side image; and feeding the cut thermal imaging receiver out of the printing system.