PURPOSE: To detect falling of a lead without using an optical sensor by comparing a detecting current value with a current value previously held in a storage device and detecting the completion of the lead supply-discharge operation of a pencil pen by the comparison.

CONSTITUTION: A pen block 2 positions a holding pencil pen 3 at the position of lead supply-discharge mounted outside a recording range in lead supply- discharge operation. A controller 1 elevates the pencil pen 3 at the position of lead supply-discharge, and abuts the knock plate of the pencil pen against the knock member 28 of the pen block 2 and lifts the pencil pen 3. Consequently, the chuck mechanism of the pencil pen 3 is lowered relatively to the pencil pen 3, the chuck mechanism 27 is released, and a novel pencil lead 3 is held and a fixed quantity of the process is repeated. The pencil pen 3 is located at the position of landing by the controller 1 after knock operation, and the data of the position of landing stored in a storage device 15 as a reference position Zr are input to the operational amplifier 111 of a position control circuit 11. An output from a position detecting sensor 23 is fed back, and the pencil pen 3 is brought to a balanced state.