To provide an ink ribbon take-up device capable of overcoming problems by making the free running distance of an ink ribbon constant regardless of residual quantity of the ink ribbon.

An IC memory 4, which stores the ink ribbon residual quantity X of an ink ribbon 1 wound on a supply ink bobbin 2, is provided on an ink cassette 5. The rotation rate Z of a drive motor 7 performing rotary drive of a take-up ink bobbin 3 is calculated by calculation based on the ink ribbon residual quantity X to control the drive motor 7 so as to drive the drive motor 7 at a take-up time at the rotation rate Z, and to subtract the value of the ink ribbon residual amount X at every transfer to rewrite the result, thereby making constant the free running distance being the moving quantity of the ink ribbon after the take-up ink bobbin stops the rotary drive.