PURPOSE: To make it possible to cope with a variety of preprinted papers, by providing a line feed pitch designation table in a business form definition body, and starting a line feed pitch switching part when a line feed pitch is different from that for the preceding line.

CONSTITUTION: A line feed pitch designation table 15 contains FCD for each line. Control of printing by a message-editing part 16 and a printing-controlling part 17 is so performed that when a request for printing is given, a business form definition body storage part 14 is searched for relevant items, the number of lines by which a paper is to be fed from the current position of a printing head to a printing position is calculated, and when the number is '0', line feeding from the current position to the printing position and printing are performed, thereby completing a processing. Next, line feed pitch information on the relevant line is obtained from the FCD of a business form definition body, and it is checked whether the line feed pitch is the same as that for the preceding line. When the line feed pitch is the same as that for the preceding line, '1' is subtracted from the number of lines for line feeding, control is repeated, and when the number of lines for line feeding becomes '0', line feeding and printing are performed. Accordingly, line feed control can be easily performed in one business form, so that it is possible to cope with a variety of preprinted papers such as commercially available business forms.