Abstract: A printer that applies donor material from donor patches on a donor web to a receiver medium using a thermal printhead that generates heat and a method for operating such a printer are provided. The method comprises the steps of: receiving a print order requesting the printing of a quantity of images; determining a temperature of the printhead; printing a designated number of the quantity of the images in a sequence; determining a length of time of a programmed delay; delaying the printing for the determined length of time of the programmed delay; and printing remaining images from the quantity of images. The length of each programmed delay is determined by using the temperature of the printhead and a time rate of cooling of the printhead and, is determined in a manner that provides a sufficient cooling time to prevent the printhead from reaching a maximum printhead temperature during printing.