PURPOSE: To shorten the time required for retraction of a recording head during operation of image formation by a method wherein the recording head is moved to a first and a second positions while the recording of images is being made to a material on which the images are to be transferred, and the recording head is moved to a third position while the material to be recorded is being mounted or dismounted.

CONSTITUTION: Sheets of paper P stored in a sheet-feeding cassette 12 are taken out with a take-out roller 24, and are sent sheet by sheet to a resist roller 27 after being sorted out with a double-feed-preventing roller 25. The sheet P is then sent to a drum clipper 60 by rotation of the resist roller 27. The front end of the sheet P is caught with the drum clipper 60 when the clippers close. At this time, a thermal head 13 is placed on a third position, being detached from an ink ribbon. The sheet P is fed as a platen drum 2 rotates and a moving cam 16 turns, making the thermal. head 13 come to a second position, being close to the platen drum 2. As the sheet P approaches the printing position of the thermal head 13 by rotation of the platen drum 2, the moving cam 16 turns further, and thereby the thermal head 13 is pressed against the sheet P through the ink ribbon 14, being positioned in a first position contacting with the platen drum 2.