A printer including a supply roll of receiver media and a plurality of rollers to feed the receiver media through the printer. Means for maintaining a preselected tension of the receiver media between the supply roll and a pair of the plurality of rollers includes a motor with a torque limiter. The motor can be attached to the supply roll or to an optional pair of rollers adjacent the supply roll. A capstan roller having a high traction, non-marking surface is used in conjunction with the tension control.