PURPOSE: To automatically select and supply a recoding paper of a quality conforming to a recording mode, by providing a paper quality detecting means for detecting whether or not a recording paper on a recording paper mount base is a color recording paper, and a paper supply controlling means for inhibiting the supply of a recording paper from the recording paper mount base of which the detection is not performed.

CONSTITUTION: A recording paper 2671 or 2672 enclosed in a transfer paper cassette 221, 222 is paid out by a paper-supplying action of a payout roller 231 or 232, and is fed to a transfer belt 25 with a predetermined timing by a register roller 24. Reflection-type photosensors 701, 702 constituting a paper quality detector are disposed above the recording paper, reflected light is received, and the paper quality of the recording paper is detected based on the quantity of the light received. The photosensor is so set as to generate different outputs for an ordinary paper (on which diffused reflection predominates) and an art paper (on which regular reflection predominates). By utilizing the output of the photosensor, the ordinary paper is automatically supplied in black mode copying in a black-and-white copying mode, whereas the art paper is automatically supplied in color mode copying in a color copying mode. This automatic paper supply is controlled by a microprocessor system.