Method and apparatus for recording an image

A thermal recording apparatus for thermal recording on a recording medium, using a reusable sheet containing ink which is usable for producing multiple recordings by transferring the ink onto the recording medium, comprising:

• heating means for heating the reusable sheet to effect recording on the recording medium;
• first moving means for reciprocably moving said heating means along the recording medium;
• second moving means for unwinding and rewinding the reusable sheet;
• recognizing means for recognizing the number of recordings made by the reusable sheet on the recording medium;
• and
• control means for controlling said first moving means and said second moving means such that said heating means is forwarded along the recording medium as the reusable sheet is unwound and returned along the recording medium as the reusable sheet is rewound while recording is conducted upon both the forwarding and the returning of said heating means, wherein said control means stops the recording when said recognizing means recognizes the returning of said heating means at a predetermined time and returns the heating means to a start position without movement of the reusable sheet and wherein said control means then repeats the forwarding and returning of said heating means and the stopping of the recording.

A method of thermal recording on a recording sheet, using a reusable ribbon reusable for producing multiple recordings by transferring the ink of the reusable ribbon onto the recording sheet, comprising the steps of:

• providing a memory having ribbon control table comprising a plurality of sections corresponding to a plurality of portions within a predetermined range on the reusable ribbon and including fore and rear margins and a reference point;
• performing recording operations at the plurality of portions of the reusable ribbon while changing the existing recording mode to another recording mode selected from a both-way recording mode, a forward direction recording mode, and a return direction recording mode depending on recording conditions, wherein the recording operation is not performed at the portion of the reusable ribbon corresponding to the fore margin of the ribbon control table;
• storing data representing the number of recording operations performed at each of said portions of the reusable ribbon as a number associated with each of said sections;
• and
• shifting any one of said sections to assume the position of the fore margin when the number of recording operations performed at a portion of the reusable ribbon corresponding to said any one of said sections in the ribbon control table reaches a predetermined number.