To reduce wear of a printing head.
In a thermal printer including a heat conductive sacrificial member 24 disposed between the thermal printing head 32 and a web paper 10, the sacrificial member 24 is held generally in a tension state, thereby preventing the web paper 10 from directly engaging with the thermal printing head 32. The sacrificial member 24 can take one of various different forms which include a fixed band or belt, a circulatable continuous belt 26 which circulates slowly during printing so as to uniform the wear of a surface thereof, and a Mobius band for uniforming the wear of both faces of the belt. Since the sacrificial member 24 is set between the thermal printing head 32 and the web paper 10, both the wear and the exposure of the printing head 32 are reduced, so that a life of the printing head 32 is elongated.
KNOTT BARRY R
WORGAN DAVID LAURENCE GEORGE
