To improve the image quality at the rise time of starting a recording operation with the recording speed with respect to a recording medium made higher without the need of additionally providing a heater dedicated for preliminary heating in a color thermal transfer type imaging apparatus using a multi- time ink ribbon.

A color recording operation is executed on a card K using a multi-time ink ribbon R having ink surfaces successively changing colors, and a plurality of thermal heads 51Y, 51M, 51C, 51B by simultaneously supplying power to some of the thermal heads 51Y, 51M, 51C, 51B for transferring the ink on the ink surface while conveying the card K. After finishing the first color (Y color) recording operation, a head driving motor is driven such that a preliminary heating operation is executed for all the ink surfaces used for recording on the subsequent card K using the thermal head 51Y disposed on the most upstream side in the ink ribbon R conveyance direction.