Improvements in or relating to printing apparatus

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 apparatus ( 10 ) being configurable to either of the first and second printing apparatus ( 10 ) being configurable to either of the first and second configurations.