A thermal printer which transfers ink to a printing medium to print an image, comprises a transfer unit configured to transfer dye ink to the printing medium to print an image, and transfer an overcoat onto the entire image to protect the image; and a control unit configured to control transfer of the overcoat by the transfer unit. The write pole has a pole tip face that is parallel to the air bearing surface of the magnetic recording head, a leading surface having a leading edge at the pole face, a first side surface having a first side edge at the pole face, a second side surface having a second side edge at the pole face, and a trailing surface having a trailing edge at the pole face. The base member is affixed to the roof of the vehicle and preferably serves as a pivot rod support which allows rotation of the pivot rod with respect to the roof. The detector element has connected therewith electric conductors which are routed through the cover element andor the base element for connecting the detector element with a voltage source andor an evaluation unit.