A printing apparatus

A printing system comprising a printing apparatus 10' that comprises a housing 20' which includes at least one removable portion, a pair of spool supports (50, 52' figure 6) which are driven by at least one motor 16', a ribbon supply spool 2', a take-up spool 3', such that, in use, the ribbon (5' figure 1) extends along a ribbon path between the supply spool 2' and the take-up spool 3' and a ribbon identification system that comprises a tag (100' figure 10) for storing information concerning a property of the ribbon and a reader (120' figure 11), wherein the tag is attached to one of the supply and take-up spools and the reader is attached to a removable portion of the housing, and wherein a signal emitted by the tag and received by the reader allows the reader to identify a property of the ribbon. Also disclosed is a component part of a printing apparatus. Also disclosed is a device for supplying the voltage to the motors that drive the ribbon spools. Also disclosed is a tool for setting a predetermined distance between a printing apparatus and a surface.