PURPOSE: To automate the alteration of characters on a printing surface and to safely and certainly perform the printing of a foodstuff by engaging a pawl member with a groove accompanied by the rotation of a shaft to rotate a printing element together with the shaft and exposing a desired printing surface to stop the pawl member.

CONSTITUTION: When a feed device 4 and an ink ribbon supply device 10 are stopped, a printing pressure pad 6 presses an ink riblon tape 7 and an article 3 to be printed to the printing surface exposed from the printing surface exposing window 40 of a printing member to print a production data or a tasting period. When the production data or the like is altered, a pawl member 62 is moved to the outside of the moving range of a printing surface selecting lever 71 by the first rotation of a shaft and, at this time, the lever 71 enters the moving range by the operation of a cylinder. The lever 71 returns to the outside of the moving range of the pawl member by the second rotation of the shaft 19. As a result, the pawl member 62 is energized by a spring 63 to be engaged with a groove 18 and the printing member 49 is rotated together with the shaft 19 to expose the desired printing surface to the printing surface exposing window 40 to stop.