Patent ID: 7609284

Claim:
A method for printing an image with a thermotransfer print head, having a row of heating elements. of a printing device having a controller equipped with a microprocessor and a pixel energy memory for data processing before printing and to initiate and to control a printing process, said method comprising calculating a first energy quantity at least with inclusion of machine parameters in a first determination step before printing, and in a first feed step supplying the first quantity to a first heating element of the thermotransfer print head to transfer ink from an ink ribbon associated with the thermotransfer print head onto a print medium surface, and calculating an energy value according to a first type, after which data of the print image are processed by the microprocessor in order to also activate heating elements in at least one of two border regions of a heating element row where no dots should be printed during the printing of the image; and additionally activating heating elements that do not lie in the two border regions of the heating element row for a limited time duration, said time duration immediately preceding printing of the image, and buffering energy values for each of the heating elements of the thermotransfer print head in a non-volatile manner in the pixel energy memory.