A dual-sided direct thermal printer and methods of operation thereof are provided. In one embodiment, a dual-sided direct thermal printer comprising a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path, and a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path opposite the first side is provided, wherein the dual-sided direct thermal printer is adapted to apportion received data into a first data portion for printing by the first thermal print head and a second data portion for printing by the second thermal print head.