PURPOSE: To provide a control method in pen plotter painting, which is capable of allowing a penplotter to perform a large quantity of printing at sufficiently high speed even by a so-called personal compute.

CONSTITUTION: (1) A grid table showing a painting range by a pen is set up. (2-4) In relation to painting items each, a number of position of a corresponding grid table is calculated through its coordinate, and a number of its painting item is set up. (5) In the grid table, whose item number is set up, a distance between grids wherein the item number is in existence is calculated and a distance table recorded in relation to a grid number is set up. (6-10) In the grid table wherein the grid number is set up, in the case where the item number which is in existence is one, the painting item corresponding to that is output to the plotter, in the case where that is plural, painting items corresponding to respective numbers are output in order on the plotter, a grid whose distance is most close to a grid is detected by referring to a distance table and in the grid, output of the painting item is carried out similarly on the whole grids wherein the item numbers are in existence.