Patent ID: 8907996

Claim:
A thermal head, comprising: a head body; a heat generator on the head body, wherein the thermal head allows a printing paper on an ink ribbon to be transported between the thermal head and a platen roller opposed to the thermal head and the heat generator allows necessary and possible printing information to be transferred onto the printing paper from the ink ribbon, the ink ribbon including a film layer; and a ribbon transport direction changing member which is provided parallel to the heat generator in a vicinity of the heat generator of the head body; driving devices that move the printing paper and the ink ribbon over a straight path past the platen roller and then past the ribbon transport direction changing member; and wherein the ribbon transport direction changing member protrudes further toward the platen roller than the heat generator and urges the ink ribbon toward the platen roller to give constant tension to the film layer of the ink ribbon after it has been heated by the heat generator to stretch the ink ribbon.