To provide a method for thermal transfer recording and a thermal transfer printer which satisfy both a high quality of images recorded to a recording medium and reduction in running cost.

A control part 25 is set which judges whether record information is images of characters or not when images are to be recorded to a recording medium. The control part controls so that, when images of characters are to be recorded to the recording medium, a ribbon cassette 5 storing a multi-time ink ribbon 17a as an ink ribbon 17 which can record by a plurality of number of times is loaded to a carriage 4 and provided for recording, and, when images except characters are to be recorded to the recording medium, the ribbon cassette 5 storing a one-time ink ribbon 17b as the ink ribbon 17 which can record only once is loaded to the carriage 4 and provided for recording.