PURPOSE: To remove the displacement of the dots of each color, and to enable polychrome recording having the high quality of printing by zigzag applying the ink of each color to an ink carrier at regular intervals by using a plate cylinder and transferring the ink to recording paper.

CONSTITUTION: When the recording paper is forwarded in the arrow t direction by means of a paper feeding roller 11, the ink carrier 1 is turned in the arrow (a) direction by frictional force with the recording paper 5. In this case, the ink is applied onto the outer circumference of the ink carrier 1 as the dots of cyan, yellow and magenta through inkholders 4a, 4b, 4c by means of the plate cylinders 2, to outer circumferences thereof convex sections are zigzag shaped. The dots of three colors zigzag applied onto the outer circumference of the ink carrier are transferred to the recording paper 5 by means of a transfer roll 6, and a polychrome recording layer 15 is formed. The ink is recorded in such a manner that currents are flowed through a thermal head 9 pushe against the recording paper, to which an opaque wax layer 16 and the polychrome recording layer 15 are shaped, in response to recording signals, a heating element 10 is selectively heat-generated, the wax layer 16 is heated and melted and made transparent, and the dots of each color of the polychrome recording layer 15 are exposed selectively.