Abstract: A casing for a printing apparatus can include a body having a printing opening, and a cover member having an aperture, wherein the cover member is moveable relative to the body between an open position in which the aperture of the cover member is substantially aligned with the printing opening of the body, and a closed position in which at least a part of the cover member substantially closes the printing opening of the body. Further, a printing assembly can include a printing apparatus and a casing, the casing providing ingress protection for the printing apparatus. Finally, a control system for such a printing assembly, and a method of operation of such a printing assembly are provided.

Abstract: A printing apparatus (10) has at a printing station (11), a print head (12) with an array (13) of heating elements individually selectable by a computer controller (15), a feed path (16) for feeding carrier ribbon (18) through the printing satation (11), the carrier ribbon (18) carrying a layer of thermally sensitive print medium, pixels of the thermally sensitive print medium being in use deposited on a print area of a substrate (20), by selectively energizing the heating elements, as the substrate (20) and print head (12) are relatively moved, the apparatus (10) including a backing member (22) and the substrate (20) being position in use between the backing member (22) and the carrier ribbon (1.

Abstract: A printing apparatus (10) includes a carrier ribbon supply tool (12) and a carrier ribbon take-up spool (16), a print head (22) having a plurality of heating elements which are individually addressable and energizable selectively to remove pixels of marking medium from the carrier ribbon (14) during a printing operation, a first motor (13) which when the printing apparatus (10) is operated in a first configuration, moves the print head (22) during a printing operation relative to a substrate (15) on which an image is to be printed and when the (10) is operated in a second configuration, the first motor (13) moving the carrier ribbon (14) relative to the print head (22) during a printing operation, and there being a second motor (25) which is operative when the printing apparatus (10) is operated in the first and second configurations to advance carrier ribbon (14) from which pixels of marking medium have been removed in a previous printing operation, onto the carrier ribbon take-up spool (16), the printing ap