PRINTER AND METHOD FOR DETECTING DONOR MATERIAL

摘要

Thermal printers (18) and methods for operating a thermal printer that applies donor material from donor patches (32) on a donor ribbon (30) to a received medium (26), the donor material being organized into sets (32.1,32.2), each set including at least one colored donor material patch (34, 36, 38), and a protective material donor patch (40). A non-visible light is applied (102) to a location on the donor ribbon, and a portion of the non-visible light that is not absorbed by the donor ribbon is sensed (104). The sensed non-visible light determines (108) whether the portion of the donor ribbon to which the non-visible light has been applied has unused protective donor material thereon.