A method of producing a thermal transfer print, including the steps of controlled imagewise heating of a surface layer of the print by means of a laser beam from a laser writing head; applying selected area elements to a substrate using a tape-like transfer film with a width which is small in relation to a width of the substrate, transporting the transfer film continuously between the substrate and the laser beam, close to the substrate surface during imaging moving the transfer film over the substrate width simultaneously and in synchronism with movement of the laser writing head the width of the transfer film being sufficiently large for a number of imaging tracks to be used alongside one another, and selecting an as yet unused track for each imaging operation.