Method of driving a thermal print head

A method for driving a thermal print head of a thermal printing apparatus, the print head oriented to transfer thermal energy to a thermally sensitive media, the print head transferring thermal energy to the media in a printing mode upon reaching a printing temperature, comprising the steps of:

• applying a first electrical potential of a control pulse sequence to the print head for a first duration;
• switching the electrical potential applied to the print head from the first electrical potential of the sequence to a second electrical potential of the sequence, the second electrical potential being lower than that of the first electrical potential and being applied to the print head for a longer duration
• whereby the control pulse sequence provides an improved rate of heat input to the print head.

A method for printing characters on a thermally sensitive media comprising the steps of:

• applying a first electrical potential of a control pulse sequence to a thermal print head for a first duration;
• switching the electrical potential applied to the print head from the first electrical potential of the sequence to a second electrical potential of the sequence, the second electrical potential being lower than that of the first electrical potential and being applied to the print head for a longer duration whereby, as a consequence of applying the first and the second electrical potentials, thermal energy is transferred from the print head to the thermally sensitive media thereby causing a character to be printed on the thermally sensitive media.