PURPOSE: To peel an ink ribbon after printing at a large angle immediately after printing within a period when the ink bonded to a recording medium is held to high temp. by controlling a printer so as to allow a ribbon peeling member to enter the gap between the ink ribbon and the recording medium.

CONSTITUTION: When printing is completed, a drive mechanism is operated to move a thermal head 1 and a ribbon peeling member 10 from a printing position to a refuge position. At the time of printing, the edge part 10a of the ribbon peeling member 10 enters the gap between an ink ribbon 5a and recording paper 6 immediately after printing to peel the ink ribbon 5a from the recording paper 6 and the ink ribbon 5a is guided by the inclined surface 10b of the ribbon peeling member 10 to be separated from the recording paper 6. The ink ribbon 5a after printing can be certainly peeled from the recording paper 6 at a large angle immediately after printing within a period when the ink bonded to the recording paper 6 is held to high temp.