PURPOSE: To enable to form a recording paper surface in the manner of correcting a recorded character or the like by overcoating, by a method wherein a correcting thermal transfer ribbon is located at a recording position when correcting, and a desired pattern is recorded on a previously recorded character or the like in an overcoating manner to correct the character or the like.

CONSTITUTION: When correcting, a controlling unit 100 causes a character counter to count down in response to a back spacing operation, outputs a command signal to a printing part 200, reversely drives a carriage motor M1 to return a carriage to the position of the preceding character, reads a character code for the character counted down, rewrites the character code into a space code, drives a shifting motor M2 to position a correction ribbon at a printing position, and then turns ON a head 210. In this case, an all-"1" dot pattern or a desired pattern is preset in a pattern buffer 204, and a printing action is performed. Accordingly, an ink of the same color as that of a recording paper is applied in an overcoating manner to correct the previously transferred character.