Abstract: A thermal printing system is disclosed wherein an inked ribbon, wound between two rollers, is transported through a thermal printing zone where a selectively heated thermal head contacts the ribbon. Discrete ink segments on the ribbon are fluidized and transferred to a recording sheet in image configuration. Upon completion of a print cycle, an ink-replenishing mechanism is brought into contact with the inked surface and the ribbon is rewound onto a feed roll. At the completion of the ink replenishing step, the normal print operation is resumed.