To provide a printer and a printing method in which print quality can be guaranteed by controlling the voltage being applied to a drive section for winding a recording ribbon or a protective film every arbitrary number of print lines thereby suppressing temporary abrupt variation in the quantity of force, and by varying the quantity of force slowly not to give effect on the print quality thereby varying the quantity of force positively and reducing difference of variation in the quantity of force.

A recording ribbon R is stretched above the recording face of a recording sheet S and a line thermal head 7 is dispose. The line thermal head 7 is energized in synchronism with carrying operation of the recording sheet. A shaft body 4 for winding a used recording ribbon R while stripping from the recording face P is provided. Control sections 1, 2 and a motor driver 3 control a fourth motor M4 generating a drive torque required for the winding operation to increase/decrease the drive torque a plurality of times within the range from starting point to ending point of the carrying operation.