To provide an image forming apparatus which suppresses the heating up of the apparatus main body while suppressing a period of time keeping printing paused from becoming long, and at the same time, can suppress the generation of poor printing resulting from the heating up of an ink sheet.

This image forming apparatus (sublimation type printer) is equipped with an apparatus main body, a thermal head 2, a cooling fan 28, an ink sheet temperature sensor 45, and a control section 21a. In this case, in the apparatus main body, an ink sheet cartridge 25 around which the ink sheet 24 is wound is detachably fitted. The thermal head 2 is arranged in the apparatus main body, and performs the printing of a printing image. The cooling fan 28 is arranged in the apparatus main body, and cools the thermal head 2 and the ink sheet 24. The ink sheet temperature sensor 45 detects the temperature of the ink sheet 24. The control section 21a performs control in such a manner that the ink sheet 24 may be cooled by operating the cooling fan 28 when the temperature of the ink sheet 24 detected by the ink sheet temperature sensor 45 is higher than a specified temperature.